Question for the lawyers

[james_davis_nicoll]

A Neanderthal steps through from another history; due to various events he strikes and kills someone here.

Can he be arrested for murder? Does a Neanderthal automatically count as a human in the eyes of the law? If so, how far from homo sapiens sapiens does a hominid have to be before they don't count as a person by default?

Comments

[neowolf2.livejournal.com]

There does seem to be a trend to treat apes differently from other animals.

[nojay.livejournal.com]

Dogs are common gregarious pack animals and if one kills or injures a human then the option to segregate them totally for the rest of their natural life is not really practical. Apes and chimps are usually not pets and few people come into contact with them, same with orcas (one captive orca has killed at least two people in two separate incidents, I believe) and male zoo elephants are notorious for killing their keepers when in musth but their actions do not usually end with them being put down as they are theoretically under control or restraint in a zoo or other establishment.