The Case for Decriminalizing Murder

The Omnibus Anti-Crimes Bill (OACB), scheduled to come up for debate this month in the House, has attracted almost no journalistic attention. This is astonishing since this package of bills, though primarily directed toward relieving the ills of the criminal justice system, must, if passed, challenge the basic social and religious tenets of Western civilization. This, needless to say, would be a healthy thing, and the bill’s sponsors are confident that the OACB is legislation whose time has come. Traditionalists, however, are sure to balk at some of OACB’s bolder innovations. The proposal to decriminalize murder is especially apt to spur some lively argument.

I spoke recently with Representative Grant B. Conklin, who helped draft the OACB, and he outlined the circumstances which, he feels, mandate the legislation: “Everyone agrees that crime is on the rise,” he said, “What some people refuse to acknowledge is that a big factor in the so-called rising crime rate is the rising law rate.” Referring to his congressional colleagues, Conklin seemed impatient with what he called “their knee-jerk legalism.” “All they want to do is write laws and pass ’em, write laws and pass ’em. It should be obvious that the more laws there are, the more opportunity for crime—it’s as simple as that. If you haven’t broken one [law] yet you’re just lucky—they’ll get you sooner or later.”

JM

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Joseph P. McGrath

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The Omnibus Anti-Crimes Bill (OACB), scheduled to come up for debate this month in the House, has attracted almost no journalistic attention. This is astonishing since this package of bills, though primarily directed toward relieving the ills of the criminal justice system, must, if passed, challenge the basic social and religious tenets of Western civilization. This, needless to say, would be a healthy thing, and the bill’s sponsors are confident that the OACB is legislation whose time has come. Traditionalists, however, are sure to balk at some of OACB’s bolder innovations. The proposal to decriminalize murder is especially apt to spur some lively argument.

I spoke recently with Representative Grant B. Conklin, who helped draft the OACB, and he outlined the circumstances which, he feels, mandate the legislation: “Everyone agrees that crime is on the rise,” he said, “What some people refuse to acknowledge is that a big factor in the so-called rising crime rate is the rising law rate.” Referring to his congressional colleagues, Conklin seemed impatient with what he called “their knee-jerk legalism.” “All they want to do is write laws and pass ’em, write laws and pass ’em. It should be obvious that the more laws there are, the more opportunity for crime—it’s as simple as that. If you haven’t broken one [law] yet you’re just lucky—they’ll get you sooner or later.”