What happens when we fail to care or to love our neighbors as self?
Believe it or not (in this climate of constant grooming and attacks upon our democracy), neglecting our duty to care does have consequences not just to our ability to be a decent human being and to live in a decent and safe society, but also to our ability to remain free and not live life behind bars.
Surprise! Breaching our duty to care can involve both civil and criminal liabilities.
How extensive those liabilities may be will depend upon how far the breach of duty goes and the number of times in extent of harm and damages caused.
“Generally, members of society have entered a social contract that includes a duty to not cause harm to others.”*
Negligence occurs when a person fails to act with reasonable care and harm befalls an injured party.
The penalties in a civil negligence case will depend upon the damages and punitive damages awarded.
The penalties in a criminal negligence will depend upon the offense committed.
The types of negligence crimes can “include involuntary manslaughter, negligent vehicular homicide, criminal neglect or endangerment of a child, negligent storage of firearms, or negligent keeping of a dangerous dog”.**
If there are aggravated factors involved then criminal negligence fines and jail terms assessed will be increased; and final sentencing will also depend on the number of counts charged.
Note, when it comes to penalties for criminal negligence federal penalties will differ from each state as they have their own differences in fines and jail terms. In addition, reckless endangerment can also increase jail time.
So, yes it can be a crime to not care.
*https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/negligence
**https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/what-criminal-negligence.html
