Testifying Against Ones Own Child

[Queran]

My question is what do you think about parents who turn their children in for breaking the law? I have a friend who is sitting on death row, whose father actually testified against him. He and I have discussed this, and he says he understood why his father felt he had to turn him in. But I have a child, and I could NEVER do such a thing. I would rather die myself than to help the prosecutor kill my own child. Besides, I am also morally and ethically oppossed to the death penalty, so in doing so I would be taking part in something I believe to be wrong. What do you think?

Jessie

[Bittor]

Well, opposition to the death penalty is irrelevant: everyone is presumably against the death penalty when applied to a loved one. And testifying against a son is not the same as "turning him in." There is no father-son privilege: if a father is called as a witness, he has to testify, and truthfully, or go to jail himself.

A parent has a primary ethical duty to the law and the welfare of others, and has no duty to aid and abet criminal acts, which is what failing to report boils down to. Minor crimes; okay, I'll cut parents slack on that, though they have an obligation to persuade the child to stop it--or else. But murder? Rape? Child abuse? Drug dealing? Robbery? Espionage? Kidnapping? A parent absolutely should report a child. "I love you, kid, but you have to pay for what you did." Period. Hard---yes. Heartbreaking---yes. Most people won't do it? True enough. Nevertheless, reporting one's child for a serious crime is the ethical course. It isn't even a close call.