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To: ArcLight
Interesting thought, though: In some cultures--Haiti for instance--the power of suggestion is so strong that merely knowing they've been cursed has been known to cause a person to waste away and die, or so I'm told.

Would that be an actionable cause?
57 posted on 03/03/2003 11:04:22 PM PST by kms61
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To: kms61
This is from Oklahoma, but may cast some light:

First, the statutory language does not specifically mention any form of impossibility. It simply states that a defendant is guilty of an attempt if he has performed sufficient acts "which would constitute the crime if the attendant circumstances were as he believes them to be." Second, this language, if literally construed, would convict a defendant no matter how absurd the situation or unlikely the success of the attempt. For example, the legally sane but mentally defective individual who truly believes he can effect the death of an enemy by utilizing voodoo magic, so long as the belief in the adequacy of these means is demonstrated, could be convicted of attempted murder, regardless of whether the voodoo rites were practiced hundreds of miles from the location of the intended victim. Note, The Status of Impossibility in Oklahoma Criminal Attempt Law, 31 Okla. L. Rev. 422 (1978).

58 posted on 03/03/2003 11:09:18 PM PST by per loin
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