Treason - Crimes Against Your Own Country

What is treason? It is committing acts that show one's unfaithfulness to one's own country. Treason is a bit hard to prove and because of this not many are convicted of this crime. However, there was once a time when it was regarded as the worst offense one can ever commit.

Treason is the crime that demonstrates your disloyalty to your own country. Treason may happen when you renounce your own citizenship or you engage in activities with the enemy of your state. Any act that leads to domestic unrest in the political arena could also be classified as treason.

If you took a poll, chances are, murder would be high up on your list of the worst crimes that you could commit. But back in the days of the 19^th century, treason  was regarded as one of the most serious ones that you could commit. In fact, those found guilty of treason in England could be burned at the stake or hanged, some of the worst punishments that could be meted out at that time. Anyone who leads a resistance movement against monarchs were subjected to the humiliation of a public execution.

In the United States, treason has been specifically defined in the Constitution to ensure that the severe punishments under English law would not be repeated in the country. Although sedition and espionage may be closely linked to crimes of treason, there are separate sanctions for these. Less than forty prosecutions have been completed in the United States due to the crime of treason. During the time of the Cold War, there were more prominent mentions of the crime, but this did nothing to increase the number of convictions that actually occurred.

Most recently, in 2006, a man named Adam Yahiye Gadahn was charged with treason in the United States. This conviction due to treason was the first in over fifty years to happen in the country. It was because of the man’s statements in several videos that showed his allegiances lies with Al Qaeda, the sworn enemy of the United States government.

Guilty of Treason

For those found guilty of treason, nothing less than capital punishment could be their fate, at least in those countries where it is still in effect. While this is still dependent on the degree and extent of treason committed, it goes to prove that while convictions have been few and far in between, they do not discount the gravity of the crime.

Treason is still hard to define, which may be the reason why there have been so few convictions. Everyone is still entitled to the freedom of speech and the freedom to organize, and political progress has been made possible precisely because of the existence of dissent within and outside the government. Nonetheless, the line that separates a desire for progress and a desire to overthrow the government may be difficult to discern.

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