Page:1954 Juvenile Delinquency Testimony.pdf/269

Rh ment carried. It was a defense to the accused person to show that he did not have any knowledge of the indecent content or uatnre of the publication complained of,

It was felt, ee with respect te crime comicsyou say the specimens on the board this morningthat it would he reull pretty ridiculous for anyone to try to plead "Well, I don’t know the nature of this thing." The nature is self-evident. it was felt by the attor- neys general if we were going to make this section effective uot only with Tespect to crime comics, but with reaper! to offensive literature generally, really this defense of lack of knowledge of the contents of the articles complained of should be removed.

Té would stil) be the onus on the Crown to prove intent in the gener’ al sense of that onus under the criminal Jaw.

Senator Hennrnes. May I ask Mr. Fulton one question? You may have suggested this earlier in your statement.

Does this relate to the publisher, the distributor, and the nevs- dealer ?

Mr. Funron. Yes, sir; it includes the whole field.

Senator Hennxrnes. I take it it is annonneed in the statute in the srbjunctive; is that correct?

Mr, usrox. Yes.

Senator Hennines. They may be joined, in other words, they may be coindictees, they may be individually indicted ?

My. Funrex. Or they may be proceeded against separately. One may be proceeded against without ihe other.

IT shall have someihing to say on that a little Jater. Phat is an interesting legal poi. F mean with respect to the matter of dealing more elfect ively with the publisher.

I should Vike, if time permils and you think it important, to sa something on that later. But that defense was removed as a oat of this amendment.

T have also a facsimile copy of the bill as if was amended in com- miltee as a result of the Government’s own suggestions. J shall be flad to file that.

Mr. . Mr. Fulton, am I wrong im believing that the bill as finally passed was different than the one yeu introdneed in that i mace it an oifense to print, circulate, and so ferth, a crime comic to anyone; whereas, as you read your original bill I got the impression i was aimed at distribntion which had as its purpose the influencing of youthful people; is that right?

Mr, Fuurox, You are correct. In my Initial draft of the bil as first moved the words “thereby tending or likely to induce or iuflu- ence youthful persons to violate the law or to corrupt the morals of such persons” was inchuled.

Mr. . Was that for enforcement purposes?

Mr. Wucron. T think so on the basis that the nature of these things and their tendency ts self-evident.

Senator Hexxives. That becomes 2 jury question.

Mr. Funron, No; those words ure not ineinded in section 207 at the present time. T he ertme comie as defined in the bill, bill 10, as it eventually passed. was defended as follows:

(7) In this section "crime comic" means a2 magaziue, periodical or bovk that exelusively or substantially coniprises matter depteting pictorially (@) the coumnission of erimes, real or fictitious