Thought Crime

I hope this is the right forum.

Many people say we canot prosecute for thought crime and others say we should. I don't think thought is a crime but lets throw out one of the worst sort of crimes there is and see what the opinions are.

What about paedophiles, several threads on ATS have gotten very heated about this issue. Several people have said they should be strung up and killed for just thinking these things. I understand the emotional reaction but let stick to the law and rights.

This thread isn't about this crime it's about all thought crime, but i'm using it as an example because it tends to bring out peoples true views.

I don't think you can prosecute anyone for thinking anything. As disgusting as the idea is that some people are attracted to children, as long as they never touch a child they should be left alone. Thoughts alone will not hurt anyone. So what do you guys think, are thoughts even of this disgusting nature allowed? Or should we arrest anyone found even thinking this stuff? What about other crimes like murder?

Recently there was an article about brain scans that said they could identify potential paedophiles.

news.bbc.co.uk...

Should we immediately arrest anyone who is scanned and found to be a potential child abuser? Or should we allow them to exist in society with the potential to hurt children but only prosecute them once they actually act upon their thoughts? It's a psychological fact that the majority of people when shouted and screamed at by their boss will instinctively want to strike out. We don't however, we keep our clam and contro ourselves. How many times have you heard someone say "God i'd love to hit him", should we arrest someone for this?

Thought crimes, what do you think?