Monday, April 26, 2021

Mesira if it results in punishment greater than prescibed by Torah?

 Rabbi Hershel Schachter (Dina Di'Malchusa Dina 1:103 118 (1981) J. Halacha & Contemporary Society): One critical point should however be added: there is no problem of "mesirah" [informing] in informing the government of a Jewish criminal, even if they penalize the criminal with a punishment more severely than the Torah requires, because even a non-Jewish government is authorized to punish and penalize above and beyond the [Jewish] law . . . for the purpose of maintaining law and order. However, this only applies in the situation where the Jewish offender or criminal has at least violated some Torah law.

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