Q&A: Do Not Join Hands with a Wicked Person to Be a Corrupt Witness
Do Not Join Hands with a Wicked Person to Be a Corrupt Witness
Question
Hello Rabbi, the Talmud learns from this that robbers and extortionists are disqualified from giving testimony because they are suspected of theft and do not spare other people’s property. According to this, can a murderer testify in monetary cases, since he is not suspected of financial theft?
Answer
No. Any person who has been convicted of a criminal offense (in halakhic terms) for which there is a punishment is disqualified from testimony by virtue of being considered wicked. By the way, even in the case of robbers and extortionists, their disqualification is not necessarily because of suspicion of lying or suspicion specifically in monetary matters. What the Talmud says is that they are wicked because they do not spare their fellow’s property. But their disqualification is not necessarily because of suspicion of lying or contempt for property, but because of their wickedness. There are major disputes about this (Ketzot HaChoshen understands this as a dispute between Abaye and Rava regarding a wicked person of extortion).