Hypothetical Criminal Situation

[DVsickgirlDV]

My Criminology professor presented this example on our study guide, and I just wanted input from others:

(this is exactly what he put... he is very liberal)
My girlfriend, Denise Bitch dies miraculously. The medical examiner determines that she is really dead. Prepartations for a funeral begin. Through questioning and threats of torture, the police obtain a 'confession' from me in which I admit to killing Denise. The confession is recorded. The D.A. threatens to throw books at me. Through constant prayers that I offer and for other unexplained reasons, Denise lives; she undies. How will the issue be resolved? What happens to the confession? Am I guilty of murder? Suppose Denise later dies of a gunshot wound at Hollywood nightclub?

[Joey P]

I'd swear that's a movie premise/subplot from something, but I don't remember what.
(Maybe you could sue the DA for throwing things at you...got any brusies?

[Joey P]

Gilda, it's a subplot in the movie Gilda. One of the main characters fakes his death and then shows up later in the movie.

[Reader99]

how do these premises make any sense? what kind of class are you taking? the girlfriend "un-dies"? does that mean that the medical examiner could not tell whether a body was alive or dead (and if it wasn't dead before the autopsy, it sure as hell was dead afterward), or do you mean some emt pronounced her dead then a trauma surgeon took a closer look and revived her, or do you mean that a different dead body was misidentified as the girlfriend, or do you mean that denise just disappeared and the cops think you did away with her? (prayer doesn't usually bring corpses back to life--i'm sorry i can't provide a cite.) if you confessed to anything it would be to specific acts at specific times and places. your confession wouldn't just say "i killed denise." it would say say that at about 10 p.m. thursday while she was visiting your home you put cyanide into her soda and watched her drink it and go into convulsions. or you shot her with a pistol that was registered to you and saw her collapse and stop breathing. etc. to be believable in court the cops would want as much detail as possible. if denise turned up alive, i would think your confession could still be used against you in an attempted murder prosecution. or maybe you didn't murder denise, but you murdered someone that you mistakenly thought was denise. how far do you think you would get if your defense was "i tried to kill denise but failed," or "the person i murdered wasn't really denise"? " your only defense would have to be "i never did any of those things to anybody, nobody got killed, denise tricked everybody, the cops scared me into lying." but it all sounds pretty silly, even for a movie plot.

[Schnitte]

The "undie" part of your plot sort of makes it a bit implausible, but false confessions aren't really that rare. Every so often innocent people confess having committed crimes; see this site for the psychological aspect of why they do this (and indeed it happens that an accused withdraws a confession they already made). I assume that the court would just ignore your confession and set you free if the alleged victim of the murder walks around alive and well.

[Shade]

VWAG. Medically "death" is by defined unrecoverable, so regardless of how dead she was for a time and if she later dies again, if she gets up again, she wasn't dead. Murder is thrown out. Depending on what happened your confession may or may not be evidence for a charge of attempted murder.

Of course, if it's truly a resurrection, all this would be interfered with by all the people running about in the streets shouting "A miracle! The second coming is at hand!"

[Tabby_Cat]

Originally Posted by Schnitte

The "undie" part of your plot sort of makes it a bit implausible, but false confessions aren't really that rare. Every so often innocent people confess having committed crimes; see this site for the psychological aspect of why they do this (and indeed it happens that an accused withdraws a confession they already made). I assume that the court would just ignore your confession and set you free if the alleged victim of the murder walks around alive and well.

Um, attempted murder, guys. Don't forget attempts.

[Derleth]

I say you'd be charged with attempted murder and you'd bring up the interrogation tactics during the trial. But the victim would probably testify against you, turning the trial into a media circus and ensuring your conviction.

Say goodnight, Gracie.

[Boyo Jim]

Really, if this happens, don't worry about the judge or cops, worry about if DENISE forgives you. She seems to have the real power in the situation.

[askeptic]

IMHO, you should worry about the competence of a professor who would ask that question...

[NorwegianBlue]

Actually there is an Ashley Judd movie called "Double Jeopardy" in which she is framed for her husbands murder, which he faked, and is tried and convicted. Having served her sentence, she cannot be tried again for murdering the same person. I don't know how accurate the legal information from the movie translates into real life, But that's movies for ya!

The difference I see, however, is that in the example stated in the OP there is no reference to having been tried for the crime. That being the case, sure, If it's suspected that you had anything to do with the "second" death you could be tried. But the confession related to the "first" death would only be supporting evidence relating to motive or intent.

Bear in mind, I am not a legal expert, But I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express once.

Sorry for the lame joke. I couldn't help myself.