"Murderous" Debate!

faceman

Hypothetical situation:

A man committs murder (doesnt matter about circumstances for the purpose of this debate) and is found guilty by the state and sentenced to "x" many years in prison. Man serves time and is released at the end of his sentence. I.e. the system deems him now fit to return to society.

You are invited to a party knowing that an ex-con will be there and u happen to know what crime he committed. However for obvious reasons, the ex-con doesnt exactly go around talkin about his previous sins - its now in the past.

Your partner/best friend/family member is invited to attend with you but is not aware that ex-con is an ex-con, especially one charged with murder.

Should u tell ur guest before or after the event or at all?

Discuss!

BigCon

None of the above - I would tell my guest as an interesting fact (gossip), rather than as a precaution...

simu

I'd tell the guest if it was someone I knew well. If not, I'd say nothing.

It wouldn't be as a precaution but as a point of interest.

WhiteWashMan

yes i would tell my guest. i see no reason why i shouldnt.

stevenmu

Like BigCon, I'd probably mention it in conversation. I think though the circumstances do matter a lot, if he murdered someone who had sexually abused him or his daughter or something, then I think he'd be pretty safe to be around, but if he murdered the last guest you brought to a party ...

MadPatrick

I'd tell my guest before the party that there is an ex-con murderer at the party. Then the guest has to guess who it is as part of a game.

Supercell

I suppose it depends on how well you know the murderer.
If he is truely repentant and has become a decent member of society to your belief - then no dont tell them.

If he doesn't want to talk about it, and presents no threat to your partner etc..then its up to him to tell them, unless you believe your friend partner etc might have a serious problem with it (eg maybe some close to them was murdered or they knew the victim)..you have to put it down to the person being introduced and how you think they might deal with it.

If the answer is badly then don't invite them, if you think its ok, let him be the one to tell them and if he doesnt mabe tell them afterwards if you think they need to know.

Atrocity

take the murderer to one side and encourage him to kill again. Cut the power off and then after the deed is done, turn the lights back on and have a game of cluedo

4Xcut

circumstances do matter. you cannot base an opinion on him with out knowing reasons behind it. if a rapist murders someone to try to dispose of evidence this is different to someone killing out of revenge or while defending someone else or what have you. the killer's circumstnces and reasons would dictate what i would do

ST*

I voted tell as a precaution. I think the con should be able to tell people, or let other people judge personality first- but in the real world guest would get p*ssed off with you for not saying it to them first. :rolleyes:

faceman

4Xcut wrote:

circumstances do matter. you cannot base an opinion on him with out knowing reasons behind it.

I was hoping someone wud raise this. Given the state has deemed that a person has served their time, i.e. they are fit to re-enter the community (they are no longer a threat), should the circumstances matter? If they murdered say someone who they knew was goin to kill someone or else or a rapist etc, does that make it ok?

Atrocity

If you murder someone then you don't ever really pay back the full debt by simply serving time. If and when you come out people should have the right to know what you did and the circumstances. I would want to be told if there was a murderer in my company. Sure, that would probably make me wary of the person but that's only human nature.

faceman

Atrocity wrote:

I would want to be told if there was a murderer in my company. Sure, that would probably make me wary of the person but that's only human nature.

Good point, cud u imagine if when hiring someone with a criminal record that a memo had to be sent to all staff advising them of it. What wud ye think of that?

Capt'n Midnight

Tell them beforehand. They can make their own decision.

The best predictor of the future is the past.
Does anyone have stats on reoffend rates on various crimes ??
Or stats on offense rates on people who have been aquitted on previous crimes ?

It's a bit like car insurance. There is a reason why people who crash have loaded premiums.

A lot would also depend on the circumstances and that makes up for better gossip.

BTW: when you say serve his time do you mean the full sentence or early release like the one year served by Philip Sheedy. I'm just so cynical about the one year he was barred from driving - FFS he was going to be in prison - hardly a apt punishment for killing someone.

Scraggs

BigCon wrote:

None of the above - I would tell my guest as an interesting fact (gossip), rather than as a precaution...

i'd do this^^

faceman

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

BTW: when you say serve his time do you mean the full sentence or early release like the one year served by Philip Sheedy.

was just talkin hypothetically dude so dunno! Wud it matter?

Dizzyblabla

faceman wrote:

Good point, cud u imagine if when hiring someone with a criminal record that a memo had to be sent to all staff advising them of it. What wud ye think of that?

ok, see that changes my opinion slightly, whereas, going to a party, I would probably tell a friend, but I would think that sending out a memo to all staff would be an invasion of privacy.

Although if the situation were reversed and I was told that there was an ex-con at a party, I would probably just take it on board and still make up my own mind about him/her after speaking to them.

Mr.Nice Guy

I'd use it in some amusing anecdotes...

"Wow this has been a great party and everybody has been so friendly. Particularly that guy over there. When I handed him a piece of cake, he gave me a pack of cigarettes."

Dizzyblabla

Mr.Nice Guy wrote:

I'd use it in some amusing anecdotes...

"Wow this has been a great party and everybody has been so friendly. Particularly that guy over there. When I handed him a piece of cake, he gave me a pack of cigarettes."

ha ha! that made me laugh!!

curliq

like bigCon, i'd use it as a bit of a "By the way...."