[lit-ideas] Re: Murder in two cultures
- From: Norman Miller <nm1921@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:13:14 -0400
Andy Amago wrote:
Norman, our sojourner! We kept a light on in the window for you all this time and you returned! What an interesting premise. I can't answer your question, but I believe France has a "crime of passion" defense. Since we don't have that, turning one's self in in France is less riskier than in the U.S., where a jail term is guaranteed. Seems to me that whenever I hear about a man killing his wife and/or kids in the U.S., he usually follows it by killing himself. I can't think of any case in the US where a man killed his wife and then turned himself in.
Murder-suicides are indeed quite common in the US but they're not
what I'm after. While less common, we read of murder-calls to
the sherriff from time to time. As for the crime passionel
defense, the literary examples I have in mind (Le Rouge et le
Noir, Les Enfants du Paradis, Casque d'Or, etc.) plead guilty
tout court and head straight for the guillotine. That is indeed
the point of the story. But not it seems in the American
imagination. I only hope that someone comes up with examples to
prove me wrong.
nm
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