How familiar are you with what the words Treason & Traitor actually mean?

2015-02-17T11:42:24-05:00

RP as military focused site, has a very Patriotic tone. We love our Country. I don't think anyone here would argue that. I think most of us despise, even loathe those who would do harm to it.

The words Traitor & Treason get thrown around a lot however. But how many people are familiar with it's actual meaning, in American Law.

In the Un-Amended Constitution, there are three specific crimes listed: Treason (Art 3, sect 3), Piracy (Art 1, sect 8), & Counterfeiting (Art 1, sect 8).

Treason is actually specifically defined (Art 3, sect 3) as: Levying war against the United States, Adhering to the nation's enemies, or Giving our nation's enemies aid and comfort.

Now all that said, we do have other crimes which are "comparable" but NOT Treason, such as the Espionage (1917) & Sedition (1918, repealed 1920).

Your thoughts?

Response by PO2 Christopher Morehouse made Feb 17 at 2015 11:58 AM

2015-02-17T11:58:57-05:00

US Code Title 18 Section 2381 codifies the crime of Treason as:
"Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States."
This adds to the Constitutionally defined crime the element "adheres to their enemies." I have not done a case law search as to how broad or how strong this element has held up, but it seems to be a fairly large catch-all. Depending on how they define the phrase, I could be uncomfortable with how it could be applied to someone doing less than what I consider treasonous.