Arkansas Changes Law, Gambling Debt No Excuse for Murder

Laws concerning gambling certainly often fit into this category, and Arkansas is voting to change a rather drastic measure.

For hundreds of years, legislators around the US have filled books with statutes , many of which remain although outdated or obsolete. Laws concerning gambling certainly often fit into this category, and Arkansas is voting to change a rather drastic measure.

State Representative Monty Davenport introduced a bill to repeal an old law allowing persons accused of a violent crime to use the attempt to recover a gambling debt as a legal defense. The bill has already passed from committee to the House floor, where it is expected to be approved without difficulty.

The Arkansas Supreme Court recently reversed a conviction of a man sentenced to death for killing another man over a card game. The defendant had lost $20 to the victim in a game of three-card monte. The court cited a decision from seventy years ago that aggravated robbery statutes did not apply to situations involving gambling debts.

The US gambling scene is filled with such seemingly absurd laws in states from coast to coast. Federal statutes are equally poorly equipped to deal with current gambling situations, involving such modern innovations as online casinos and mobile gambling.

Legal scholar Paul Blackwater says it's past time for the US to clean up its gaming laws. "US law concerning gambling is like that old drawer where mismatched socks accumulate. They can never match up, and are basically useless, but for some reason you haven't thrown them out. It's time for spring cleaning of casino and gambling statutes."