{"version": "1.0", "type": "rich", "title": "So this seems like the sort of thing you might know: what's the deal with 'treason' just totally disappearing as a criminal...", "author_name": "kontextmaschine", "author_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "provider_name": "kontextmaschine", "provider_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "url": "https://kontextmaschine.com/post/184000920818/", "html": "<div class=\"question\"><strong>Anonymous</strong> asked: So this seems like the sort of thing you might know: what's the deal with 'treason' just totally disappearing as a criminal charge? It seems like all the laws still exist and the government hasn't become any softer on actual treasonous acts, but they're always handled with more specific and less exciting-sounding charges nowadays</div>\n<p>It\u2019s never been used very often in America, tbh, part of it is the Constitution specifically makes it hard to convict on, you need two direct witnesses or a confession in open court (i.e. where you can\u2019t just torture it out of them)</p><p>Here\u2019s an unasked but more interesting question: if betraying your country is \u201chigh treason\u201d, what\u2019s \u201clow treason\u201d?</p><p>And the answer is, petit (petty) treason was betrayal of your superior who was not a sovereign - killing your master, husband, or (as a priest) your commanding <strike>officer</strike> clergyman</p>"}