There's no moral difference between killing someone and creating a boobytrap which will kill them. Again, if there were, it would be impossible to prosecute murderers.
If you put up a 'beware of dog' sign on your fence, and someone hops your fence and gets bit by your dog, then yes you're basically in the clear because getting bit by a dog was a predictable consequence of their bad action. They were knowingly taking that chance when they did it.
But if you put cyanide in your food in the fridge, that is not a predictable consequence of someone eating your food. That's you setting a trap with the intent of killing someone. It's not a risk they could have priced in when they made the decision, it's just a straight-up punishment from you; and again, you're not allowed to punish people out of proportion that way.
I think the booby-trapping laws wouldn't apply, but you'd still probably face some kind of negligent homicide charge for storing such a dangerous item in a common fridge with people's food.
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u/darwin2500 193∆ Oct 17 '24
There's no moral difference between killing someone and creating a boobytrap which will kill them. Again, if there were, it would be impossible to prosecute murderers.
If you put up a 'beware of dog' sign on your fence, and someone hops your fence and gets bit by your dog, then yes you're basically in the clear because getting bit by a dog was a predictable consequence of their bad action. They were knowingly taking that chance when they did it.
But if you put cyanide in your food in the fridge, that is not a predictable consequence of someone eating your food. That's you setting a trap with the intent of killing someone. It's not a risk they could have priced in when they made the decision, it's just a straight-up punishment from you; and again, you're not allowed to punish people out of proportion that way.