Would Louise have been convicted IRL?

You know…from Thelma and Louise. She shot and killed the yahoo who was about to rape Thelma, then went on the run, for fear the self-defense reasoning wouldn’t hold up in court because they’d both been drinking, and Thelma had been dancing and flirting with the guy all night.

Any legal minds on this board?

Are you trying to spoil the ending?
That was a classic.

I really think she had a reason to run, the court system being what it is. In most rape cases, it ultimately comes down to “her word against his”. Since they killed the perpetrator before there could ever be a rape case, they have eliminated the court case, but their murder trial would still come down to “her word/his word” or, since he is now dead “her word/witnesses word”. As you say they had been dancing together all night, and many people saw them. People, I might add, who would be prone to side with the dead man, not these two outsider women.

Also, I actually heard this exact quote used in a rape defense LAST YEAR, if you can believe it: “It wasn’t rape. She was asking for it. Look at the way she was dressed!”

Hard to believe people still think that way, but they do. Add to this that the time&place of the movie was what, late 80s, in a redneck-type environment, and you’ve basically got no chance of convicting a man of rape. And convicting the man of rape (attempted, at least) is the only way to get off the murder charges.