对胳膊的罪罚

鸭绒25（译）

2023年11月2日

一名男子被控入室盗窃，他的律师尝试用他的创意为他辩护。

“我的当事人只不过是把他的胳膊伸进窗户，拿走了一些微不足道的东西。他的胳膊并不代表他自己。我不明白，你怎么能因为他肢体犯下的罪行而惩罚他整个人。”

“说得好。”法官回答，“根据你的逻辑，我判处被告的胳膊1年监禁。他可以选择陪它坐牢，也可以选择不陪它。”

被告笑了。在律师的协助下，他取下他的假肢，放在被告席上，走出法庭。

原文： Arm Committed the Crime

A lawyer defending a man accused of burglary tried this creative defense：“My client merely inserted his arm into the window，and removed a few trifling articles。His arm is not himself，and I fail to see how you can punish the whole individual for an offence committed by his limb。”

“Well put。”the judge replied，“Using your logic，I sentence the defendant's arm to one year's imprisonment。He can accompany it or not，as he chooses。”

The defendant smiled。With his lawyer's assistance he detached his artificial limb，laid it on the bench，and walked out。