JB/067/009/002

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The use of the Definition of a thing, is to
distinguish that thing separate that thingfrom every other. The
The use of the Definition of an offence
that is of an act that is mischievous,
is to distinguish it in the first place from every act not
mischievous, as well in the next place
from every act which the mischievous
is not mischievous in the same way.
Now of with regard to acts that are mischievous
what is the use of distinguishing one of them
from another?

In the 1st place it is because the 1st may require to have
a different punishment from the 2d: Now
when you would declare which offence
shall have which punishment you must
distinguish one of them from the other – You
mean that the offence A shall have the
Punishment A, & the offence B, the
punishment B. Now therefore he who is
to take care that the punishment A is
to be administered to all one who has been
guilty of the offence A, must be able
to distinguish the offence A from every other
Act & particularly from the offence B,
to enable him therefore to do so, you give
such an account of the offence A whi as he
shall see not to gree to any other act, &
in particular not to the offence B. That is
you give to each of those offences a different
definition.

In the 2d place, it is because

The use of Definitions of offences is therefore
1st to draw the boundaries between innocence
and guilt. 2dly to draw the boundaries
between guilts which the having different
punishments, and

Now it is also 3dly to draw boundaries between
guilts which tho' they have the same
punishment, which are to be made not by
different evidence: that the innocent of acceded of the
offence charged may have an opportunity to
make out the falshood of the charge, that, is to
make out that has not done that act which
he is charged to have done. Now to make that
out, he must know what that act is and not, [he may be] charged with one act he make may
act that he has another he may
employ himself in making out that he has
not done an act with which he is not charged,
which is† [†& so lose trouble those who are trouble but to try him, as well as himself, lose trouble pains lost to himself and to those who
are to try him: or else he may not employ himself and making
out that he has not done the act with
which he is charged: & so he risque the
evil of the punishment.

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If I am a Legislator and I mean that a
man shall be hanged for Murder, & transported
only for Manslaughter, I must give
such an account both of Murder & of Manslaughter
as that the Judge shall not order
to be transported, a man who has done any of the
acts which I mean when I say think of Murder
nor to be hanged a man who has done any
of these I mean when I say Manslaughter.
That is I must give a such definition of
Murder that does as shall not agree to acts of
manslaughter, & of Manslaughter that does as shall not agree to acts of Murder.

What the Indictment for the individual offence
is to do to this end over and above what
the Definition does for the specified offence of
which that in question is an individual instance is to
specify 1st The time. 2d The place. 3dly If the
injury be of that class of those which have an individual for their object; the
person who is that object.

Identifier: | JB/067/009/002 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 67.
Date_1		Marginal Summary Numbering
Box	067	Main Headings	law in general
Folio number	009	Info in main headings field	definitions of offences construction of
Image	002	Titles
Category	text sheet	Number of Pages	1
Recto/Verso	recto	Page Numbering	c2
Penner	jeremy bentham	Watermarks	[[watermarks::gr [crown motif] [britannia with shield motif]]]
Marginals		Paper Producer
Corrections		Paper Produced in Year
Notes public		ID Number	21842
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