Tom and Isaac have been best friends for 20 years and do everything together. Last weekend, they visited a local bar to watch the Man United match, and while their team was losing, an Arsenal fan made jokes about Tom’s team. Tom got angry, and he and the Arsenal fan got into a fight. In short, Tom was arrested and taken to court. The magistrate told him to dig the sub-county farm and pay a fine of 100,000. Isaac was in court and begged the judge to allow him to take the punishment on behalf of Tom because Tom has never done any heavy labour or digging. Can the court legally allow Isaac to take on Tom’s punishment?
WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY?
According to the law, when a person does something that is prohibited by the law, that person will be punished for that crime. For example, if a person slaps another person, they commit a criminal offence known as assault, and if they are found guilty of this offence, they can be punished by spending up to 2 years in prison.
This person can be;
1. the person who commits the crime, or
2. the person who helps someone commit a crime, or
3. the person who does something to allow the other person to commit a crime.
The law does not say ‘A person’ or “their family, friend or well-wisher” will receive a punishment. This means that the person who commits a crime must be punished personally. So Isaac cannot ‘help’ Tom to take on half the prison sentence or be responsible for paying the fine given by the court. Isaac can give Tom money for the fine, but he cannot pay the fine directly. The law does not allow it.
Source: BarefootLaw
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