Death of treason?

Submitted by Ken (Switzerland), Aug 17, 2005 at 11:06

I agree that treason, as a meaningful concept in the criminal law, is dead, but I think the reasons run much deeper and go much further back. The adoption of the U. S. Constitution is the turning point. Our Founding Fathers were keenly aware of how treason charges had been used by the British Crown to silence critics of its actions (such as Sir Thomas More). This lead them to incorporate into the Constitution a very narrow definition of treason. Indicting someone for the tangible acts involved is a much simpler strategy, legally, and avoids the issue of whether the state is criminalizing dissent.

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