John has a younger brother named Jimmy, someone that he’s very close with. John also has younger cousin named Peter who he’s not close with.
One fine day, Jimmy decides to prank his older brother with the help of his cousin. They decide to make it appear as if Jimmy is seriously injured at the hands of Peter.
Jimmy googles how to make fake blood, makes some in the kitchen, and rushes to his room with a hammer.
He lies down on the floor, puts the ‘blood’ in and around his mouth and face and makes Peter stand 2 feet from him holding a ‘bloody’ hammer.
Jimmy then screams, “HELP!”
John hears the plea and rushes to the room and sees his younger brother on the floor with (what appears to be blood) coming from his mouth and face. He looks up and sees Peter holding a ‘bloody’ hammer. Given the scene, John deduces that Peter bludgeoned Jimmy.
Blind with fury and pumped with adrenaline, John picks up the first object within his grasp, a pen, and swiftly drives it deep into Peter’s eye, before confiscating the hammer and tending to Jimmy.
Jimmy quickly breaks character and explains that it was just a prank. They call 911 and take it from there.
Peter loses his left eye and decides to press assault charges.
In your opinion, should John be held criminally liable for causing serious, permanent injury to Peter?
The above are the results from the poll that I administered in my political group – Civil Political Discourse 🇺🇸
Facebook interviewed me personally back in October, 2020, and commended me for being able to host healthy, political conversations. My group is sorely lacking a robust Democratic/Progressive presence, so if you fall on the left side of the isle, I doubly encourage you to join. That being said, we welcome members of any political affiliation.
If you’re interested in seeing the rest of the commentary or participating in future thought experiments, I invite you to join my group.
