Ok is double jeopardy possible?
like in the movie lets say this happens to me.
I am imprisoned for 25 years for ‘killing’ Sarah Smith.
But she isnt really dead.
I get out of Gaol and i hunt down sarah smith (the one i was framed for killing) and i kill her right in front of a cop.
Can he do anything?
if i go to a cop station and told them i just killed the girl i was imprisoned for killing could they arrest me?
if they did and i was in court would my case hold up? the fact that i already did the time?
The cop would haul you in, testify and watch you go into your cell.
The crime you did time for is not the same criminal act you just committed, since it takes place in a different time and locale.
Your wrongful imprisonment is not a license to commit a crime.
However, you could write a best seller based on your experience, hit the TV talk shows, sell the rights to a made-for-TV movie and clean up. A lawsuit against the authorities might also give you reparations.
You would be arrested, but I bet Clinton would have pardoned you…
I’ll take “This has already been asked about 40 times on this board” for 1000, Alex.
RAWisSYDNEY,
First, let me congratulate you. You are the first person to ask this question here, despite the fact that the movie was released two years ago. Amazingly, no one ever thought to ask this simple question, as the use of the SEARCH feature will clearly show.
Having thus gotten rid of my sarcasm bile for the day…
The scenario suggested in the movie is not based in reality. When you’re convicted of a crime, it’s not simply “Murder,” nor is it simply “The murder of Joe Blow.” Rather, it’s “On or about July 25th, 1999, you murdered Joe Blow in the County of Fairfax, in the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
Conviction of that crime doesn’t save you from being later found guilty of “The murder of Joe Blow on or about August 15th, 2000, in Queens County, state of New York.” They are different crimes factually, even though they happen to be the same general criminal charge.