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Article: Moral Judgment: Does the Abuse Excuse Threaten Our Legal System?
- Article from:
- First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life
- Article date:
- January 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Institute on Religion and Public Life. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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James Q. Wilson has written an important book that is almost certain to be misunderstood in ways that conceal both its strengths and weaknesses. Though it brilliantly analyzes the effect of the "abuse excuse" upon our legal system, it ultimately undermines the basis of moral judgment. In so doing, it keeps the promise of its subtitle -- demolishing the "abuse "excuse" -- while defeating the promise of its title -- defending "moral judgment."
According to the author, the basic principle of our law is that people are accountable for their actions. To be sure, there are a few exceptions: in the case of murder, for example, we recognize justifications such as ...