ANSWERS: 31
  • It depends on how close a friend they are are if they think they can really trust you, as if you have not been trustworthy in the past, the breaking the promise now would seriously damage your relationship. It also depends on the crime. if it is petty crime such as shoplifting with little penalty in terms of jail time, you would be more willing to turn them in as the sentencing will be short. But if it is serious such as murder, then you would think "I should tell as it is a serious crime, but my friend would be in jail for a long time". It is indeed a moral dilemma.
  • I would not want to be friends with someone who would allow someone to take the blame for something that he/she did. Right is right, and if he refuses to do the right thing, I would think twice about how good a friend he would be to me in the same situation. Would he let me take the blame for something he did? If I knew that someone was getting blamed, and possibly punished for something someone else did...I would tell.
  • That would make me mad that my so called friend would let somebody else take the rap - I'd have to tell
  • Tell. There's no way I'd let someone else take the blame. I can imagine being in that person's shoes and how pissed I'd be if I was arrested for something I didn't do. It's just not on to let that lie of my friends slide, given the consequences it's going to have on someone else's life.
  • I'd never have made that promise in the first place. It's patently unethical. And I would not any longer be friends with someone who asked for such a promise. Sounds harsh, but that's the truth.
  • As much as I hate to break promises, this would be an awfully good reason to do so. I would have little respect for a friend that would let an innocent person stand accused rather than fess up anyhow. I would turn my friend in.
  • As difficult as it is to break your word , I would have to do something .This would, I am afraid mean informing the authorities. I would not want a friend that allowed another to take the blame for their crime
  • Loyalty should be to one thing, and one thing only- The Truth! Your 'friend' is not deserving of the promise. There is a term which applies in this instance- misplaced loyalty. Your friend cast the die when he/she commited the crime. Letting your friend get away with hit will hurt 3 people. The innocent accused, your friend AND YOU! If the friend is made to pay for their mistake, justice will be served and they may change their ways.
  • I have to agree with most of the other answers given to this point. However, there is something else that you should consider. By telling you about his crime, your "friend" has made you an accessory to the crime. This means that if you don't report him, then you could also face legal charges, especially if you allow an innocent person go to jail when you had information that could have exonerated him. Your so-called friend should not have committed the crime in the first place. Second, he should not have put you in a position where you could face criminal charges. Third, he should not be letting an innocent person take the wrap for his crime. Your "friend" has no honor. If he is not going to accept the consequences of his actions, then you have a responsibility to society to turn him in. As long as he is able to avoid the consequences of his bad behavior, he is going to keep behaving badly. Yes, this may ruin your relationship with this guy. However, I don't consider this a relationship worth saving if it does. However, it might just be the wake up call that he needs. He might just thank you in the end. I would not count on it, but it is a possibility.
  • I would tell anyway. Sometimes breaking a promise is the right thing to do.
  • Are you knowledgable as to what a "crime" is in your jurisdiction? Are we talking about a ball getting kicked through a window or armed robbery? But, if there is a real "crime" then witholding your knowledge could make you an "accessory after the fact"-with potentially serious implications. Tell me more.
  • I'd tell my friend that I am going to the police (or whoever) to give him / her up, but give him / her one last chance to turn themselves in. There is no way that I'd let an innocent person take the punishment for a crime that my friend actually committed. Personal friendship is not as important as social justice, especially when innocent people are at risk.
  • depends on what it is. if he stole something from the store i would not say anything but if its murder or some other major crime i would report him
  • So dont tell, just make sure that someone finds out who is really responsible, there other ways to communicate than talking. I dont think your friend is being much of a man or friend.
  • There is nothing worse than an innocent person being put somewhere he should not have been in the first place. I would notify the appropriate authority in order that this innocent person (unknown to me) does not suffer, even if it cost me my friendship
  • Depends on the crime.... If it were murder or robbery or something where the innocent man would really be punished and put through the ringer then I'd write an anonymous letter to the police, like buy new paper and wear gloves and everything. LOL I wouldnt want to get involved at all personally. But I can feel for an innocent person and if you really feel that it is wrong to prosecute an innocent man (which I believe it is) then I would have to speak up. I personally couldnt live with myself knowing the wrong person is doing jail time for something they didnt do and that the KEY to setting them free lies with ME. I couldnt keep that to myself, the guilt would eat me alive. The police can keep your anonymity, you might have to testify but you can refuse and give a statement to be read in court instead. This guy is clearly not a friend making you promise something that outrageous and really, do you WANT a friend that commits crimes?? That is a tough situation.....
  • An unsettling question of ethics .... but no - ulitmately I'd have to 'betray' my friend (who, btw I may be looking at a bit differently by now as it is) and speak up. The thought of someone being wrongly accused would bother my conscience far more.
  • Stay quiet if you promised not to tell you have to stick to your word.
  • WOW....good question....I would have to take the responsibility myself and correct what is wrong...I may loose a friend but I wouldn't want a friend like that anyway....
  • I would be more careful when it came to giving out promises in the future. Sometimes your friends' actions are something you're far better keeping out of. It doesn't matter how big the crime, its not right that an innocent person gets blamed for it. Tell the police or the appropriate authority and distance yourself from this 'friend.' If that person goes down for something they didn't do then it's ultimately on you for not speaking up.
  • i'd have to tell
  • If the person is innocent then they should easily get away due to lack of evidence and with todays advancements in dna profiling I think this situation would never happen.
  • wait until the innocent person gets incarcerated for the crime, then i'd turn in my friend
  • A promise is a promise. That will be on his conscience. And if he has no conscience, it will come back on him. Its not very fair but stick by your word, I think.
  • i didn't really read the comments, but for sure i would NEVER tell. I also didn't read the question too well. why i would never tell--- i value my life i don't like pain i don't like suffering i don't like to cry in front of other people i don't like to beg for mercy it could be quite embarassing how do you spell the above word? concrete shoes? too heavy sleeping with the fish? too many nightmares crime doesn't pay or is it crime does pay? wait-----is this about retribution? is he going to try to harm me? let me know soon as i will get botox and get highlighting. if he were to kill me (retribution) i would want to look decent in my coffin. oh no! i'm being cremated! i don't need to spend the $$$ on botox etc. wait! i really should because there will be police there and the undertaker etc. so, let me know so i can schedule some appointments. don't do it in nantucket. i will end up on the cover of PEOPLE magazine!! a fate worse than death. 15 minutes and all that. god knows i don't even want 5 minutes. i'm trying to get my typing in now as the task master will be here this afternoon and she HATES when i am on the computer. Why? can someone tell me the answer to such a simple question? am i making a lot of mistakes. i am getting nervous, so i tend to type faster. she will be cracking the whip!! she acts like my mother. oh no. i am an orphan. she's not really my mother. i adopted her when she was just a week old. she calls the shots. yes indeed she does. I need to call her mommy instead of the wheat. what do you think? typing faster and making more mistakes than a second grader. do second graders type with all their fingers. there/their....sometimes i just can't figure it out. is that due to my ignorance or is it because ............? getting back to you..........good god man----get some sleep........you will feel oh so great------afraid you'll miss something..........what's the deal with the no sleep?..........that is so strange/peculiar. here's a question for you/i know it won't be answered by here goes, WHY DON'T YOU SLEEP?? sleeping is good for the mind, heart, and soul. it's good for your disposition. god knows you have a problem with that. had enough?? no? you can only shut me up by totally ignoring me. we know you have done that in the past. i really can't do that. does that make me a better person than you? dunno........haha you are haughty and i'm not!!! hahahaha......i have more sense than you........haha.........you have serious character flaws and i don't.....well, i may have a few. hahaha.
  • depends on what he did, some secrets arent meant to be kept, i would turn him in
  • i would tell the police about it anyways, its not fair to accuse an innocent person
  • I would do everything I could to persuede the "friend" who committed the crime to give him or her up to the police I would do my best he orshesget a public defender since I believe in judicial rights for everyone. That said I would think long and hard whether I wanted to be a friend to this person BTW this reminds me of the movie "Irrational Man" where an innocent man is accused of murder. The real murderer never confesses. Only a movie.
  • I would do everything I could to persuede the "friend" who committed the crime to give him or her up to the police I would do my best he orshesget a public defender since I believe in judicial rights for everyone. That said I would think long and hard whether I wanted to be a friend to this person BTW this reminds me of the movie "Irrational Man" where an innocent man is accused of murder. The real murderer never confesses. Only a movie.
  • I would do everything I could to persuede the "friend" who committed the crime to give him or her up to the police I would do my best he orshesget a public defender since I believe in judicial rights for everyone. That said I would think long and hard whether I wanted to be a friend to this person BTW this reminds me of the movie "Irrational Man" where an innocent man is accused of murder. The real murderer never confesses. Only a movie.
  • I would do everything I could to persuede the "friend" who committed the crime to give him or her up to the police I would do my best he orshesget a public defender since I believe in judicial rights for everyone. That said I would think long and hard whether I wanted to be a friend to this person BTW this reminds me of the movie "Irrational Man" where an innocent man is accused of murder. The real murderer never confesses. Only a movie.

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