# Conjoined twins and crime and due process **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 28, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conjoined-twins-and-crime-and-due-process/565622 "2010-12-28T17:29:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ExcitedIdiot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ea5d25/32.png) [@ExcitedIdiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExcitedIdiot)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conjoined-twins-and-crime-and-due-process/565622/21 "2010-12-30T19:07:45Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > That suggestion would most likely not work even if the identity of the murderer were not known. Both conjoined twins will blame the other one, so one of them is guilty of both murder and perjury (Fifth Amendment privileges aside), the other one will be guilty of neither. But which is which? I don’t know what I was thinking, I guess I misunderstood the scenario. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conjoined-twins-and-crime-and-due-process/565622/22 "2010-12-30T20:01:38Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > That suggestion would most likely not work even if the identity of the murderer were not known. Both conjoined twins will blame the other one, so one of them is guilty of both murder and perjury (Fifth Amendment privileges aside), the other one will be guilty of neither. But which is which? Ah, that’s easy. Just ask either one “Who would the OTHER twin say is the murderer?” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conjoined-twins-and-crime-and-due-process/565622/23 "2010-12-30T20:14:26Z")
> [@ExcitedIdiot](#): > > Get them on the stand and ask them both who committed the murder. Give them both to life in prison, one for perjury and the other for the murder. You can’t give someone a life sentence for perjury. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conjoined-twins-and-crime-and-due-process/565622/24 "2010-12-30T20:23:54Z")
Obviously, this is way out in Hypothetical Land. But I’m wondering if a conjoined twin was found guilty of a \*capital \*crime and sentenced to death, could he be severed from his brother surgically? Assuming it could be done medically, of course, without killing his brother. Perform the separation and then administer whatever form of execution would normally be required. This would only work if the innocent twin wasn’t the weaker of the two and all the working organs could be assigned to him, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conjoined-twins-and-crime-and-due-process/565622/25 "2010-12-30T20:33:45Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Ah, that’s easy. Just ask either one “Who would the OTHER twin say is the murderer?” Of course you could also place black or white hats on each twin’s head so that either twin can only see the other’s hat. Then have them derive the colour of their own hat logically. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conjoined-twins-and-crime-and-due-process/565622/26 "2010-12-30T20:36:24Z")
The innocent conjoined twin could not lawfully be punished for the crimes of the guilty one, assuming you could even determine, by evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, who did what. So both would usually be freed. I could see circumstances where the court might order the surgical severing of the twins if it could be done safely and if releasing the guilty twin would otherwise pose a danger to public safety, as with a murderer or a serial rapist conjoined twin (boy, there’s a mental image!). Once severed, the guilty one goes to prison and the innocent one goes on his way. I suppose if they could not be severed, and if the guilty one was just too dangerous to be released, some form of house arrest might be ordered. There’d be no perfect solution in a case like this, and hard cases make bad law, as the saying goes. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conjoined-twins-and-crime-and-due-process/565622/27 "2010-12-30T20:45:26Z")
My assumption is that if they could be separated surgically without killing one of them, it would have been done when they were children. Most conjoined twins who remained conjoined do so because separating them would kill one of them. If it’s the guilty one, I don’t personally see a problem with that - separating them and letting the guilty one die of the natural consequences of the operation. But I have no idea how the law would see it. Is surgery a legally accepted from of execution? Is it like Catholics and abortion, where the intent of the surgery matters more than the end result? Would they have to have a reasonable assurance of healing him post-surgery in order to execute him by more common means? I have no idea. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conjoined-twins-and-crime-and-due-process/565622/28 "2010-12-30T20:46:54Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > My assumption is that if they could be separated surgically without killing one of them, it would have been done when they were children. I think that decision is sometimes delayed until the twins are old enough to decide for themselves, since their lives are often at risk. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conjoined-twins-and-crime-and-due-process/565622/29 "2010-12-30T21:40:40Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Suppose, hypothetically, that one of [these two conjoined girls](http://souniqueme.blogspot.com/2010/08/abby-and-brittany-helsen-amazing-life.html) commits murder. Holds a gun in her hand (the hand she controls), and threatens her twin with harm if she interferes with the commission of the deed. Abby would _never_ do anything like that! Britney, on the other hand… They are in college now. I hope they are majoring in communications and public speaking. They could make a huge amount of money as motivational speakers. They could talk about the importance of cooperation. I’m sure any number of corporations would pay tens of thousands of dollars to bring them in to speak at events, especially after a merger. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conjoined-twins-and-crime-and-due-process/565622/30 "2010-12-30T21:58:53Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I think that decision is sometimes delayed until the twins are old enough to decide for themselves, since their lives are often at risk. And even in cases when the both twins could survive seperation both could end up severly crippled. I belive that’s the case with the Helsen Twins. If they were seperated they’d both spend the rest of their lives in wheelchairs. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conjoined-twins-and-crime-and-due-process/565622/31 "2010-12-30T22:21:31Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > According to Blackstone’s formulation, you certainly wouldn’t imprison the twins. So if you have cojoined decuplets, nine of whom commit a murder, you could imprison them all? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conjoined-twins-and-crime-and-due-process/565622/32 "2010-12-30T22:40:34Z")
My gut tells me to charge them both with conspiracy and jail them on _that_ charge. If those facts won’t fit, try Tampering with Evidence, Hindering Apprehension, or whatever else you can think of. No way did Twin A commit a crime without Twin B helping him out a little, even if the only “help” involved walking away from the scene so that his brother could leave as well. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conjoined-twins-and-crime-and-due-process/565622/33 "2010-12-31T01:26:12Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > So if you have cojoined decuplets, nine of whom commit a murder, you could imprison them all? Nope, it’s better for ten guilty men to go free, so you’d need dodecuplets to achieve the desired 11:1 ratio. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conjoined-twins-and-crime-and-due-process/565622/34 "2010-12-31T05:15:05Z")
Perhaps you could arrange some type of arrest where the non-guilty could get a bunch of perks, and then voluntarily give up some freedom. He can maybe even still go out with a monitor, and the guilty twin being somehow restricted. Heck, being a conjoined twin creates a pretty big restriction in itself. I can’t think of any heinous crimes one could commit without the other knowing, and pretty much being able to stop. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conjoined-twins-and-crime-and-due-process/565622/35 "2011-01-01T01:07:19Z")
Actually, I don’t think the “holding a gun to the other one’s head” would work, because I think in most cases of one twin dying, the other does shortly afterwards. Again, I think you’d be considered an accessory for not stopping the guilty one. ---
**Author:** ![miragesyzygy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@miragesyzygy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miragesyzygy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conjoined-twins-and-crime-and-due-process/565622/36 "2011-01-05T01:51:59Z")
> [@](#): > > Ah, that’s easy. Just ask either one “Who would the OTHER twin say is the murderer?” I don’t think that’ll work, since it’s not guarunteed one will tell the truth. A would say “B would say A is the murderer” and B would say “A would say B is the murderer” you still get 2 different answers ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conjoined-twins-and-crime-and-due-process/565622/37 "2011-01-05T02:41:58Z")
Question them in separate rooms to see if their stories agree… no. Put a listening device on just ONE of them to see if… no, no good either. Cut a plea deal with one of them so that they’d have immunity from… never mind. Hell, just put them in an octagonal square and have them fight it out to the death. That should work. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conjoined-twins-and-crime-and-due-process/565622/38 "2011-01-06T02:16:58Z")
Ask their mother which one did it, and if she refuses to answer then threaten to cut them in half. IIRC it worked for Solomon. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conjoined-twins-and-crime-and-due-process/565622/39 "2011-01-06T02:37:24Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Again, I think you’d be considered an accessory for not stopping the guilty one. You’re not legally required to prevent crime. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conjoined-twins-and-crime-and-due-process/565622/40 "2011-06-24T16:55:25Z")
I think as long as one twin remained silent it would be no different from any other contestant. As for going to prison, [Grady “Lobster Boy” Stiles](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grady_Stiles)was a murderer- tried and convicted- but allowed to remain free because of his extraordinarily unusual disability (which obviously didn’t disable him from killing). Basically the court ruled that he could not survive in a regular prison and the state did not have the resources to keep him safe and to put him in solitary would be cruel-and-unusual-punishment, etc., so they let him remain free. They’d probably do something similar for conjoined twins. (Let’s hope it’d work better than it did for Lobster Boy who threatened another family murder and continued abusing his family until he himself was killed and three people instead of one were sent to prison.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conjoined-twins-and-crime-and-due-process/565622.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conjoined-twins-and-crime-and-due-process/565622.md?page=3)