Project Phoenix Forums Thread Like Summary - Dilemma - Telling a Secret

Your friend tells you that they committed a crime. They explain that they are having trouble sleeping at night and feel you are the only one they can trust with their confession. A few days later, you read in the paper that someone has been arrested for your friend’s crime. Do you:

I'd try to encourage my friend to give themselves up, and if they don't, I am not willing to allow an innocent bystander to be convicted in their place, so I would turn them in myself. It's even in criminal law as Blackstone's ratio: "It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer"
If the law is doing their job properly, they'd catch my friend in the first place, most of my friends are dumb. However, if the case turns to having an innocent taking the place of my friend, I would turn my friend in, despite the fact that they trusted me, before that said innocent's trial.

damienn - well I know not to tell you anything lol. To add to what you said about Blackstone's ratio: "It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer". I see where you're coming from but I totally do not agree. If you actually think about it and go more into depth on that statement, it's like if you were a policeman in a crowd. 10 being criminals, the rest being innocent bystanders. Would you rather those criminals be caught and innocent individual be accidentally shot, or would you want to be so careful not to shoot the individual, that the criminals escape? To be, or not to be, that is the question.

its not my info to tell my homie trust me and its staying that way but ill fight him

You shouldn't tell secrets like it's if they want to turn themselves in on their own free will. Yes, it's wrong that someone else is doing their time, but your friend dodged a bullet with getting caught. The person who was arrested probably beat it from insufficient evidence, but nonetheless your friend's trust in you to keep it in is more important than telling.

I wouldn't snitch on my friend like that, because they trust me. Them already feeling extremely bad because of it is enough. Also maybe they'll tell the police themselves if it's too much for them.

Well said, Rawlings! There's a big difference between "stole a loaf of bread" and "took another's life". I think more information is definitely needed!