A criminal on trial for a postal crime (circa 1965) gave the following testimony, as quoted by a St. Louis Division Postal Inspector who attended the trial. The Prosecutor asked the defendant, 'Did you know that what you did was illegal?' The defendant was not the stereotypical dumb criminal. His literate, if ill-considered, response was, 'I knew that it was reprehensible, but I didn't know that it was illegal.' It was a jury trial. The jury was probably unimpressed by his candor. He was convicted.
We don't always have such candor by which we may judge a person's actions. Sometimes, there are other ways to observe that which is intended to remain a secret.
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