Any idea what this book is?

Question

Someone on a Livejournal community summarized a book, but they didn't know the author, name of the book, or anything else. It sounds really interesting, so I'm hoping someone can help me out! Unfortunately, this is all I have to go on, and all my Google searches end up with either way too many results, or none.

From the poster:
"Years ago, I read a short story or novel about a time in the future where one could "prepay" a crime; you would decide what you wanted to do, then do the jail time first & then be able to commit the crime afterward. The story was centered on how the protagonist was the first person ever to prepay a murder & he spent like 30 years in prison & the whole world weas waiting to see who he'd kill & when."

Ideas? Thanks so much in advance!

I did think about it being 'Minority Report', but it sounds more like once the "criminal" got out of jail, they'd be able to commit their crime without interference or anything. Sort of like buying a murder, speeding ticket, whatever. "Do the time, then do the crime".

Thanks, though!

Answer 1

I'm not sure if this is it, but it sounds very similar to Minority Report by Philip K. Dick (which was also made into a movie by Steven Spielburg). In the book and movie, the cops could stop a person from committing the crime by going back to a time before it took place.

Okay, this one is really bothering me! It's not a story about a man who is sent to prison on trumped-up charges, and when he escapes he (one-by-one) makes those responsible pay for it? That's The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.

I'll continue to search, but I'll also star this question & keep checking to see if anyone else knows it off-the-bat! :)

BTW: The same man who wrote Minority Report wrote around 121 short stories, too. I wonder if this story about prepaying a crime was a short story by Philip K. Dick. The story seems so similar to Minority Report (in one respect) that it seems likely. I can't find a description of all his short stories, though. There are various collections of his stories available. I apologize that I couldn't pin it down exactly, but since my eyes are starting to cross I thought I should stop trying to find it... :(