Is telling someone you are going to kill a person and skin them a crime?

[RB TexLa]

If you have no intention of actually killing and skinning them? Not meaning to marginalize any crime in the news currently. Asking an honest question.

[Redstone]

1. Yes, it is.

Redstone

[RB TexLa]

2. wording is worng

telling someone you are going kill and skin someone else.

[pitohui]

22. that sounds more like conspiracy

i take it this is something that actually happened?

ugh

[salin]

28. One of the Duke lacrosse players sent out this email to others

very shortly after the alleged (group?) rape.

[saltpoint]

3. Probably. Have all diplomatic channels been exhausted?

RGBolen, I have no idea what the specific law might say, but it seems as if it would constitute a genuine menace and threat, not to mention harrassment, and would likely provoke a court restraining order.

Ask around to the legal minds around here -- there are some good ones -- and see what they can tell you.

[baby_mouse]

4. Yup. NT.

[Iris]

5. No.

It's free speech. Sick speech, but free speech.

Just think if everyone at free republic who writes stuff like this had to be prosecuted - the court systems would be jammed.

[Cleita]

6. Threats are considered against the law in most places. n/t

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

7. Not only that.

You can, at least here in NJ, find yourself committed to a state hospital for up to 30 days, for utterences that present a threat to the life and well being of others. Depending on your presented affect at the time of questioning by a law officer.

[Extend a Hand]

8. I dunno

I see lots of responses saying yes but most often when women complain about abusers they are told the cops can't do anything until he acts.

[JStuart]

9. no

not if there's no specific victim.

For example if someone says "If another kid walks across my lawn and smushes the daffodils, I'm getting the shotgun"
not illegal.

But if he sees Jimmy from nextdoor on his lawn and yells "Jimmy I'm going to ki** yer ass"
illegal.

[Catherine Vincent]

10. No, it's not a crime but it does describes you as an abnormal individual.

No normal person would say something like that (or think to type it even if drunk).

[geniph]

11. If it's directed specifically to that person, yes

In that circumstance, it constitutes a threat, and can be actionable. Saying, on the other hand, "god, my boss makes me so sick, I'd like to break his neck" is not actually threatening. The distinction is basically between making a remark like that to a third party or directing it at the individual you're talking about harming.

If threats were truly actionable, though, a lot of parents would be in a great deal of trouble. "Johnny, if you poke your sister with your fork one more time, I'm going to wring your neck."

Sending ANYONE anything threatening through the mail is a federal offense. Threatening the President in any way will get you a visit from the SS. Sending threatening emails can be actionable. Telling your best friend you wish you could just whack your ex-husband probably is not.

[Neil Lisst]

12. it's an assault to make such a threat against a person

probably a terroristic threat, too

[Sinti]

13. Not in VA

In fact, pointing a gun in someone's face and saying you're going to "fire the place up" if you're not given your job back pronto is not a crime (personal experience). Threatening to burn a building down is, however, go figure

[pitohui]

23. sinti may i ask a question?

i wonder if you are female, i am and have had similar but not as drastic of an experience

it IS a crime actually, the cops just can't be arsed to prosecute

my gut feeling is that threats against women are not always taken as anything more than hyperbole until it is too late

[salin]

32. the attitude is expressed here on this thread

the original post poses the question as if it wasn't a real (it was) email from one of those present at the Duke alleged rape incident. A few others make light - as if it wasn't a real expression of violent - related to a real act of violence. Sadly a lot of folks bend over backwards to find ways to create excuses for those who express such thoughts - as it "doesn't really mean they would act on it..." and if there is an act "it isn't evidence, as in and of itself the 'thoughts' don't mean anything"... absolutely ignoring the point that if one feels so comfortable expressing such hideous, violent thoughts it might be indicative of a lack of socail restraint (in the sense of acting on impulse.)

Friend in the profession of dealing with abused women can go on and on from examples where women's concers (eg due to direct threats) are ignored form this type of rationalizing - until it was too late. Tragic.

[RB TexLa]

35. I am posing it outside of that actual e-mail

I was wanting to pose the question on it's on. Obviously that is where the thought came from but the question is such a statement without actual intent and apart from and without other criminal activity.

[Montagnard]

14. My understanding is that such utterance

Is assault and therefore is a crime.

[acmejack]

15. In Texas you *could* be charged with

Making a "Teroristic Threat"

Sec. 22.07. TERRORISTIC THREAT. (a) A person commits an offense if he threatens to commit any offense involving violence to any person or property with intent to:
~ ~ (1) cause a reaction of any type to his threat by an official or volunteer agency organized to deal with emergencies;
~ ~ (2) place any person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury; or
~ ~ (3) prevent or interrupt the occupation or use of a building; room; place of assembly; place to which the public has access; place of employment or occupation; aircraft, automobile, or other form of conveyance; or other public place; or
~ ~ (4) cause impairment or interruption of public communications, public transportation, public water, gas, or power supply or other public service.
~ (b) An offense under Subdivision (1) or (2) of Subsection (a) is a Class B misdemeanor. An offense under Subdivision (3) of Subsection (a) is a Class A misdemeanor. An offense under Subdivision (4) of Subsection (a) is a felony of the third degree.

http://www.bakers-legal-pages.com/pc/2207.htm

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

16. Only When Done With The Intent To Intimidate.

If it is just off the cuff to a third party when the subject is not present, and it is uttered in a way that does not readily convey an immediate threat, then it would be nearly impossible to prosecute without further evidence, intent or conspiracy that a crime was to be committed as opposed to simple rhetoric.

[Lancer]

17. According to the Durham Police,

this email falls under the category of "conspiracy to commit murder." No charges of any kind have been filed yet; but it's my guess that this one would be difficult to prove. As sickening as the content of the email is, it's difficult to prove its intent, given that it was allegedly addressed to "To Whom It May Concern."

[NashVegas]

18. No, But As a Casebuilder, It's Hunky Dory

The prosecutor can show the jury that little Ryan finds sexual gratification in the idea of violence towards members of the opposite sex, especially those he deems as unworthies.

"cut their skin off while c*mming in my duke issue spandex"

I love how the news media are doing cartwheels for euphamisms.

[benEzra]

19. Yes, it's illegal to threaten to kill somebody...

unless it is obviously a joke and the person who is being spoken to knows it.

[pitohui]

20. it's a terroristic threat, supposedly, can also be assault

as far as i know it is indeed a crime however it is rarely ever enforced

and almost never enforced if the crime is made by a man to a woman

it would most often be charged as an offense if the victim was someone v. powerful, if you said such a thing to the president, of course you would be charged w. making a threat -- and rightly so

yet an ordinary woman presumably has less ability to protect herself when threatened that way, so it seems upside-down, seems it should be a worse crime to threaten the defenseless woman than the well-defended man surrounded by bodyguards at all times


the way of the world, i guess

[Beelzebud]

21. Probably not if you're a rich white frat boy at an ivy league school.

[Dorian Gray]

24. It may not be a crime....

but it indicates that the writer of said email is, at best, a callous and disgusting human pile of excrement.

[philosophie_en_rose]

25. Could be.

If someone actually believes you, there are sometimes criminal statutes that cover it.

It could also be evidence in other, related crimes. At the least, it can be used to guide investigators to you.

If a person were killed and skinned, and I knew that someone threatened to kill and skin people, the "joker" would be a suspect.

[TheBaldyMan]

26. it's an assault, a verbal assault is still an assault.

However people that say they are going to kill and skin you are blowhard shitbags.

[salin]

27. and how is the intent known...

in terms of "no intent"? One has to look at context to try to get a sense of intent, since one doesn't have a line into another person's mind.

If one has violent thoughts such as these, frequently enough to feel no compunction as to express them to others, one should seek help. If one receives such communications of such violent thoughts - indicating that the person not only has the thoughts but feels confident enough to express them with no sense that some might recoil (eg no sense of empathy for recipients) one should be very concerned... and if one receives one from someone - within a very short time frame that the person is likely to have been a party to what is reported as a violent crime - one should notify the authorities.

[salin]

29. well if one has just been implicated as having one degree or another

of participation in a violent rape where folks where yelling out epitaths throughout... it might give evidence of "state of mind". Not that I am refering to any marginalized current news-crime story or anything.

[Spirochete]

30. If it was...

my mother would have been doing time since I was 4. She was always threatening dire things, then she'd just make me sit in a corner or something. hehe

[dbt]

31. Here in Arkansas, it's an expression of endearment.

:smoke:
dbt
Remember New Orlinz

[salin]

33. even as a joke

that is frightening. Or the fact that it is a joke is frightening? Rape victims don't find much humour in the topic. No offense intended.

[YouthInAsia]

34. I hope not.

cuz i've threatened to kill and skin my ex boyfriend numerous times

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

36. I don't know, but I had a completely different take on that email

It was black humor. Very very black, but humor nonetheless. Maybe even a cold commentary on what had already taken place.

He was not charged with rape and there are no indications he participated in it. I think he was being sarcastic, making sardonic commentary on his teammates' behavior by comparing it with something worse. As in 'yeah man, you think raping women is hot, I'm gonna kill 'em. I'm gonna be an even bigger piece of shit than you, man. How hot is that?'

I doubt this will be a popular point of view but I will have to see some proof that he fantasizes about killing women before I see it any other way.

[Kingshakabobo]

37. No. It doesn't seem to rise to the "reasonable man" standard.

In other words, would a reasonable person believe that this kid was actually going to murder and "skin" someone.

[FlaGranny]

38. "I'll skin you alive"

used to be a very common joking, friendly fake threat - but not "I'll kill and skin you." That does sound threatening.