Is Robin Hood a thief?

Is Robin Hood a thief?

Would you call Robin Hood a thief? Afterall he stole money from the rich and gave them to the poor so the legend says?

I have said before that the road to hell is often paved with good intentions. People have this habit of justifying their wrong doings for some innocous and at times seemingly acceptable causes. When I was still in the law enforcement and a deputy public prosecutor, I could remember the countless times I came across with accused persons committing white collar crimes who by nature were not wicked but well intentioned and good natured people. I had come across with a man who committed a criminal breach of trust of thousand of dollars because he had to support a huge family. I came across with a lady who committed a corruption offence because she was left to raise her kids by herself after being left by her irresponsible husband. Yes, they were also a large number of accused persons who led an extravagant lifestyle and lived beyond their means but it would be hard to label these people as evil as you might find them in our midst as kind hearted people for most of their times who probably did charity works or helpful public servants or generous people who probably performed benevolent acts for most of their lives. It was only when this temporary lapse of judgement which maybe due to some desperate or dire situations that drove them to make a stupid decision of their lifetime they ended up commiting that single offence in question.

We all know that motive in a crime is irrelevant. The law does not differentiate between a person that steals a loaf of bread to feed his hungry child from someone commiting the same offence simply because he is hungry. A theft is a theft no matter how sympathetic the reason behind the theft may sound. The motive may be a relevant mitigating factor in a subsequent sentencing by the court but to allow it as relevant factor in absolving a person from his crime would simply make a mockery of justice as it is really human nature for people to readily justify their own actions. When judging intentions, people are more likely to interpret good intentions for their own actions than they are for those of others. That is the reason why in white collar crimes, I have never come accross with any person who readily admits that he is a wicked man or one who would readily admit that he was a corrupt person. Everyone would have his or her own excuses. Unfortunately the law is blind of one's own motive and rightly so it needs to be blind.

We must ensure the law remains steadfastly blind and indifferent on one's own motive behind every crime committed because we can be sure there are plenty of Robin Hoods out there with plenty of good causes to justify their wrong doings.

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