CDZ What is the Responsible Element of Ourselves?

[JimBowie1958]

Iowa convicted killer claims he served life sentence after he died, and then revived
A life sentence serving convict claims that his life sentence was filled when he suffered clinical death, but the judge rejected that appeal.

What constitutes or defines us as being *us*? If a person commits a crime and gets a life sentence then suffers an accident where he loses all his memory and does not remember committing the crime or even being that same person, is his sentence still just? Is he the same person?

What if we could transfer our consciousness into a machine, and while doing so, someone else transferred themselves into our bodies and committed a crime that we did not know about, then left. When we transferred back into our body, are we guilty of the crime the other person committed? What do we mean exactly when we say a specific person committed a crime? Is that a reference to their collection of DNA we call them or is it the responsible actions of the consciousness?

If a person cannot give consent to sex while out of their full awareness as the result of a date rape drug or alcohol, then can a person be responsible for any crime committed while 'out' from that drug?

 

[Pogo]

Iowa convicted killer claims he served life sentence after he died, and then revived
A life sentence serving convict claims that his life sentence was filled when he suffered clinical death, but the judge rejected that appeal.

What constitutes or defines us as being *us*? If a person commits a crime and gets a life sentence then suffers an accident where he loses all his memory and does not remember committing the crime or even being that same person, is his sentence still just? Is he the same person?

What if we could transfer our consciousness into a machine, and while doing so, someone else transferred themselves into our bodies and committed a crime that we did not know about, then left. When we transferred back into our body, are we guilty of the crime the other person committed? What do we mean exactly when we say a specific person committed a crime? Is that a reference to their collection of DNA we call them or is it the responsible actions of the consciousness?

If a person cannot give consent to sex while out of their full awareness as the result of a date rape drug or alcohol, then can a person be responsible for any crime committed while 'out' from that drug?

I've never been able to buy the "I was drunk" excuse. Seems to me if you're conscious enough to stand up, breathe and take any action at all, then you're by definition responsible for your own actions. The only state that should render one not-responsible is if they're unconscious, but in that case they're not doing anything.

Hallucinations would be an exception, but alcohol doesn't bring hallucinations.

 

[jwoodie]

Like it or not, the only objective basis for punishment is "an eye for an eye," which means the perpetrator should suffer equivalent to the crime he has committed. Modernly, this punishment is translated into incarceration and/or monetary fines. Although most serious crimes require an element of intent, they are essentially prohibitions of physical behavior. Unless a person is "out of his mind" during the commission of a crime, his punishment should meet this standard.

If life imprisonment (without parole) is adjudged to be the appropriate punishment for a crime, then no subsequent change in a person's mental or physical status is is a legitimate basis for abrogating that sentence.

 

[JimBowie1958]

The only state that should render one not-responsible is if they're unconscious, but in that case they're not doing anything.

I have read that some date-rape drugs make you a clueless automaton that will gullibley fallow any advice or instructions.

Can you share your personal experiences at all with that sort of thing? (No I am talking about being a Democrat either, lol)

It would seem like a person under a 'date rap' drug could make a claim for not realizing they were putting money into a bag for a bank robber.