If someone did something illegal that, if they were caught, would most likely result in them being put to death, or imprisoned for life, or maybe for 20 years and in any case probably ruin their domestic life...

From a practical "what's-in-it-for-me" perspective, should they turn themselves in to the police? Would it benefit them more, or should they try to see if they can get away with it?

I'm not talking about a moral decision here... just asking about practicality.

I've always wondered why some people turn themselves in. I understand some of this is done through guilt. It just appears that you would probably not benefit from this at all, and you're just giving up your valuable time left in society + a possible chance of not getting caught.

Thoughts?

Alright, 'fess up, what have you done?

I don't really understand what you're asking. If you take all moral and ethical aspects out of the equation, there'd be absolutely no benefit to turning yourself in. At least none that I can think of off-hand. So yes, in terms of practicality, it would be far better to take your chances and try to get away with it.

I stole some Big Red when I was 5.

No but yeah, I haven't done anything. I'm just asking.

Practicality? Never turn yourself in. Morally? Never turn yourself in.

Never turn yourself in.

If you're absolutely certain you're going to get away, no point turning yourself in. If you do get caught, striking a deal may shave a couple years off of your sentence.

If you're going to get caught eventually then turning yourself in is a good idea

Will I get to cut a deal if I turn myself in? What's the probability of a more lenient sentancing for turning myself in? What knowledge do I have to trade with in order to leverage a more lenient punishment? What are the social repurcussions for turning myself in (example: I turn myself in, get a really lenient punishment, get released, only to be killed by someone in their sense of vigilante justice)?

There's too many factors to consider to make a blanket statement if I would turn myself in in any given situation. Depending on how the cards play out I either would or wouldn't, whichever I figure was in my best interest.

Why?

You also have to factor the fact that when word gets out in the prison that you snitched to save 5 years, the other prisoners are going make your life hell, if not end it. Especially if your crime was gang related and a gang member is in the same prison.

I've seen some of this show called 'I almost got away with it' where they talk to criminals about their time on the lam. They always talk about even though they are free they have to always be on the lookout and sleep with one eye open. The whole ordeal is very stressful and for some it's better to turn themselves in than to deal with always being on guard 24/7.

Depends on what I snitched on. If, for example, it's the case that I'm a terrorist and gave the government valuable information on the terrorist organization in exchange for some immunity or protected custody, then it could play very much in my favor to turn myself in supposing I was highly likely to get caught and my ties to the organization were strained for some reason.

Also when you cut a gang-related deal you make sure to get put in a prison without any gang members in it, for your own protection.

An example of when it'd be a bad idea to turn yourself in is if you're involved in some sort of underground human six trafficking organization that has been involved with kidnapping underaged persons. Even if you were in it solely for the money, you'd still get labeled a six offender, you'd be constantly picked on and possibly killed in prison (even criminals hate these guys), once you've gotten out you'd be completely ostracized from society, job options would be limited, and you'd be the constant recipient of hate mail and acts of violence. If you were to follow the line of thinking in the OP as doing things from the "practical "whats-in-it-for-me" perspective, then it'd be wise not to turn yourself in.

The same situation can be spun though so it is favorable to turn yourself in: you're higher up in a crime syndicate that has a branch involved in human trafficking like above. You have no ties to it yourself, but have the dirt on it, and for unrelated reasons you are being charged with something (say, murder) and the above has never sat right with you (but you stood by because you didn't want to lose power). Now you can trade that information on the trafficking for a more lenient punishment/protection.

So like I originally said, this cannot be given a blanket statement, if doing as the OP originally proposed of doing whatever is in your best interest, as there's too many crime and too many considerations to factor in for a simple answer to be given.

BTW: I enjoy a good game of prisoner's dilemma if you haven't figured that out

The chances are that if you turn yourself in you appear remorseful and are likely to get a lenient sentence from the authorities. If you wait and they catch you that's far less likely to happen...

If you get caught snort some Bath salts and go zombie on the cop's asses.

Well, look at it like this.

If you try to get away with it as long as possible and DO get away with it, good for you. If you don't get away with it and get caught much later, then you paid for it. Turning yourself in is a 100% chance of not getting away with it, while trying to get away with it offers the chance to ACTUALLY get away with it.

Seems fair to me, if you can get away with it and do versus you can get away with it and decide not to.

They'll never take me alive!

...that's my philosophy.

I'd rather pay with my blood!

I killed a man once

You'll never catch me!


I think you should stop right there criminal scum if you break the law on my watch.

For a lot of criminals on the run freedom comes at a great physical and mental cost. You cant be around your family, you must constantly cover your tracks, be on the move, not make any mistakes that could give yourself away. Running might not be worth the trouble for some people.

Turning yourself in because you feel like a hunted animal in order to feel like a caged and doomed animal seems like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.

At least on the run you can... run, and all of the benefits that come with it.

Does anyone know what kind of "leniency" they'll give someone for turning themselves in? I don't mean trading information, just giving yourself up and all of the desired information without asking for a deal.

Once again, too many factors to consider. A serial killer turning themselves in isn't going to get much leniency, for example. A lot also has to do with the judge and district attorney. Just pleaing guilty without any other information to be less severely punished is known as a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plea_bargain.

They [meaning the court system] tend to be nicer to criminals who outright turn themselves in and/or plead guilty (instead of pleading innocent and being convicted guilty). On the other hand, remember that, if, say, you murdered someone and turned yourself in, instead of getting life in prison, you might get 70 years. For a crime that would normally be about 20 years, you might get 2-3 off that (and more with good behavior and parole, but you'd almost certainly still spend 10-12 years minimum).

if everyone turned themselves in, there'd be no The Fugitive D:
On topic, though, if I thought i could get a lighter sentence I'd turn myself in.

Spend 20 years in absolute captivity, where it's certain I will not progress with my life whatsoever VS move to a completely different country and spend 20 years bringing my life back up to its former standard in a new land.

I'd go with the second option if possible.