# Two people imprisoned for same crime...possible?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-people-imprisoned-for-same-crime-possible/815959>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 12, 2018, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-people-imprisoned-for-same-crime-possible/815959 "2018-06-12T13:10:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-people-imprisoned-for-same-crime-possible/815959/21 "2018-06-12T19:41:35Z")

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> [@Delicious](#):
>
> I’m sure people have said about Trump that accepting a pardon is an admission of guilt, is that the same for governor pardons?

Yes.

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**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-people-imprisoned-for-same-crime-possible/815959/22 "2018-06-12T19:42:47Z")

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> [@Loach](#):
>
> But that’s not what the OP was about.

I was responding to a specific comment, and in any case is it is what the OP is about.

> [@OldGuy](#):
>
> If you’ll read your whole link, you’ll see that the judges when told about both trials tended to agree that you could not argue contradictory theories. They were, however, resctricted in remedies.

I did read the link, and it clearly shows that it is certainly possible for the prosecution to argue multiple contradictory theories and get convictions, and that it has been done, which answers your original question. In some cases the convictions have been thrown out, but not all, and there is no general ruling that such cases violate due process. The fact that judges don’t like it when they know all of the facts is irrelevant to the fact that it has certainly been done successfully.

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**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-people-imprisoned-for-same-crime-possible/815959/23 "2018-06-12T20:11:59Z")

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There was[a thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=593267) on this already (of course)

And there is [this](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Court-says-two-can-be-tried-for-one-crime-2508101.php):

> [@](#):
>
> In another capital case, Thomas Thompson was sentenced to death for a 1981 rape and murder after the prosecutor presented evidence that Thompson **was the only suspect present and had the only motive** for murder. In a later trial, the same prosecutor argued Thompson’s roommate was present and **had the sole motive for murder.**
> 
> The roommate, David Leitch, was sentenced to prison. The federal appeals court overturned Thompson’s conviction because of the conflicting prosecutions, but the U.S. Supreme Court set the ruling aside on procedural grounds, and Thompson was executed in 1998.

The emphasis is mine to show that each was prosecuted as the sole perpetrator so felony murder did not apply.

mc

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