LAWS 2302 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Fredric Wertham, Crime Comics, Hybrid Offence
Document Summary
Act or omission that contravenes criminal legislation. The reason youth were committing so many crimes was because of crime comics (according to seduction of the innocent, by fredric wertham) crime that attempted to corrupt morals- direct link bw criminal acts and moral behavior of ppl. Operated a crime book store, arrested and convicted under the part of the criminal code regarding sexual offences, public morals and disorderly conduct. (s. 163) S. 169 states he can get 2 years imprisonment for this (hybrid offence) Sc upheld the charges because they found these comics very obscene, bloodthirsty and gruesome, and the impact they could have on children could be grandiose. Some have argued that crime comics may be good for the public- this is potential loophole. (must serve public good) Bc there is no way that a child reading this comic would feel compelled to do anything good, there is no benefit in this comic, it only will lead to negative outcomes.
