Snape, Apologies, and Redemption--Lupin vs. DD

[houyhnhnm102]

No: HPFGUIDX 152602

Lanval:

> But we DO know quite well what the Death Eaters 
> were up to at the time. They were going around 
> murdering and torturing. 
[snip}
> Sirius Black is not guilty of attempted murder. 
> He's guilty of telling a nosy kid, who had a mind 
> to get four other boys expelled, the way into a 
> secret passage.

houyhnhnm:

Snape may not have been into murdering and torturing himself and he
may not even have actually participated in any such acts, but by
joining the Death Eaters (as a late adolescent)he became responsible
for acts they carried out whether he participated or not. He is
responsible for the deaths of James and Lily Potter because he
reported the contents of the prophecy to Voldemort, even though he may
not have foreseen such a consequence and never wanted them to die.

Sirius Black is not guilty of attempted murder because he was just a
high-spirited prankster afflicted with a teenage brain that could not
foresee the consequences of his act.  He didn't really want Snape to die.

So:
People are responsible for the unintended consequences of their actions.
Or
People are not responsible for the unintended consequences of their
actions.
Which is it?
This is what bothers me about the arguments of the anti-Snapists on
this list.