The Illustrated Guide to Criminal Law
Chapter 13: I Had No Choice!
Necessity pg 5: Dylan the Dimwit
First, let’s look at Necessity. How can you tell when circumstances justify committing an act that ordinarily would have been a crime?
Meet Dylan the Dimwit.
Dylan is pouring gasoline on a fire in his living room, with a bundle of dynamite nearby.
Using gasoline and dynamite, he burned his own house down so he could collect the insurance money (committing Arson and Fraud, in his state).
Dylan’s house is on fire, looking distressed.
The fire quickly began to spread up and down his block.
Nearby houses are catching fire, also looking distressed.
“But your honour, I had to burn my house down! I had no choice, I needed the money!”
If I were a judge, and a defendant who had been convicted said that to me, I would say “In that case I can solve both of our problems. Your punishment is to join the army. You might never get rich, and you also might get Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and/or brain damage. But at least you will make an honest living, and thus won’t have an excuse to pull this BS again.”
“But your honour, 71% of people in the eligible age range fail to qualify for military service for health reasons alone, to say nothing of the fact that most people who are desperate for money are too old to enlist under present regulations. Military service doesn’t even come close to curing my poverty! :(“
“In that case, that just leaves regular prison. You will have to work for less than minimum wage. But, you will get room and board for free. So, you won’t need the money anymore.”