False testimonies can land you in prison.
The truth will set you free, but perjury could land you in prison. Perjury is the crime of giving false testimony. There are different kinds of perjury as defined by federal and state laws. To be convicted of perjury, you must know that what you're saying is a lie at the time you say it. Perjury crimes carry fines and terms of imprisonment. Lying on or off the witness stand never amounts to anything good.
Perjury Defined
Perjury is the legal term for lying under oath. You commit perjury when you knowingly give an oral or written false testimony to someone after you have sworn to tell the truth. Both criminal and civil laws in federal and state governments outlaw perjury. This crime can carry high fines or even result in incarceration. Two types of perjury are common in U.S. courts: subornation of perjury and false statements.
Subornation of Perjury
When you convince another person to give false testimony under oath, you are guilty of subornation of perjury. Procuring another to commit perjury in federal courts carries a fine or imprisonment of up to five years. In order to be convicted of this crime, you must know that the statement you convinced another to give was false and you must have willingly convinced the other to commit perjury. Subornation of perjury is more frequently prosecuted as obstruction of justice.
False Statements
In federal courts, the crime of false statements occurs when you knowingly lie in any matter governed by U.S. executive, legislative or judicial branches. The lie is a crime regardless whether its spoken, written or otherwise communicated. Federal courts will fine you for false statements and/or incarcerate you for up to five years. If the false statement relates to terrorism or certain sex crimes, the term of incarceration could be as high as eight years.
More on Perjury
In most jurisdictions, the defendant must know for sure that the testimony he gave or convinced another to give was false in order to be convicted of perjury. If you didn't know at the relevant time that a testimony was a lie, then you likely cannot be convicted of perjury. Also, even something as simple as signing a form could constitute perjury. Remember that you always sign your name to your IRS taxes "under penalty of perjury."
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