Would you lie to police to protect a friend?

1. 94

   iggy7117posted 7 years ago

   Would you lie to police to protect a friend?

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2. 64

   wingedcentaurposted 7 years ago

   Hi Vince! How's it going?
   
   There is no easy answer to that question. I would say, however, that being a friend cuts both ways. I would hope that no friend of mine would put me in the position of having to lie for him---(Remember the finger-wagging Bill Clinton and the awkward position he put his administration loyalists in, concerning Monica Lewinsky?).
   
   Also, what are we talking about: a death that may or may not be homicide? a death that may or may not have been accidental?
   
   What if the police penetrate my lie? That might lead them to think of me as an "accessory"---at very least, what is it?, an "accessory-after-the-fact"?
   The lie would have to be impenetrable. It would have to come from an unimpeachable source.
   
   What about giving a "friend" an "alibi"?
   One has to consider the idea that a criminal is trading on your "friendship" as cover for his crime(s); and that, perhaps, you never really knew him or her at all.
   
   No easy answers, Vince. Sorry!

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3. 70

   Aime Fposted 7 years ago

   As William said, I would hope that no friend of mine would put me in a position where they were asking me to lie for them. 
   
   I guess it depends on the offence.  If it was anything even remotely serious I wouldn't even consider lying.  If it was something like "does your friend download movies illegally?" I probably wouldn't be as quick to throw them under the bus.

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4. 65

   Tusitala Tomposted 7 years ago

   Depends on the friend, the circumstances and the police.   
   
   Now, if they were Parking Police rather than state police, and the parking policeman said how long has your friend been at this 'no parking but stopping permitted to drop off passengers,' and I was asked, how long my friend had been there, I might say, "Oh, he just pulled up a minute or so ago."  When he might have been parked for fifteen minutes.
   
   On the other hand, if it was a serious matter where I could be charged in a court of law for interfering with the cause of justice or some such, I might have a completely different viewpoint.

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