Do Good Intentions a crime not make?

[Cryozombie]

I've been watching a lot of Robin Hood latley, and it got me thinking about things... specifically, "The Ends Justify the Means" kinda thing. Fictionallized story, of course, but still:

Here we have a guy, living under a corrupt ruler who turns outlaw, and routinley steals from the Nobles who prosper under the Prince's rule and redistribute the wealth amongst the poor who need it. But in the course of doing so, he also manages to kill guards, soldiers, etc to commit his crimes "For the People" and becomes a hero...

Yes, his motivation was good... he was not being greedy self serving, he was helping the downtrodden and less fortunate, but really, in the end he was just a theif and murderer, am I right? Or were his reasons so noble that there are simply cases that "The Ends Justify the Means"?

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Or were his reasons so noble that there are simply cases that "The Ends Justify the Means"?

There are potentially three judges of behavior.

The first is the law of the society under which one finds oneself.
The second is the moral code under which one justifies one's own behavior.
The third is the law of the religion one professes, if any.

Society demands that the laws of that society be kept. In that way, Robin Hood is a common criminal, no different from any other.

Robin Hood, like all people, will tend to operate in a way that satisfies his own inner code or belief system. In this way, Robin Hood's actions are justified based upon his intent.

I cannot say what Robin Hood's eternal judge would say upon weighing the evidence, but that would be between Robin and his Creator.

A person who chooses to transgress the laws of man in this life must be prepared to accept that society may not agree with his reasons for doing so; he may be fairly punished regardless of his actual intent in breaking the law.

The law does, however, accept that in some cases, a particular mental state must accompany an action for that action to be a crime, or may alter the nature of that crime (murder versus manslaughter, for example). See 'mens rea':

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mens_rea

Society does not in general care about the morality of the laws, but attempts are made to temper justice with mercy.

 

[Omar B]

This is a discussion of ethics. What is good, and by what standard. We can all agree that it's the right of the citizens to overthrow and undermine an injust government right.

Robin's theft I'm not a fan of, a resistance movement I can get behind. But taking the unearned and distributing it, not a fan.