# You commit a crime to prove your innocence of a bigger crime **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 24, 2011, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-commit-a-crime-to-prove-your-innocence-of-a-bigger-crime/603947 "2011-11-24T02:58:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-commit-a-crime-to-prove-your-innocence-of-a-bigger-crime/603947/1 "2011-11-24T02:58:32Z")
Let’s say you’re found guilty of a serious crime (murder, for the sake of it), but are innocent and somehow manage to escape custody. You know who the real killer is, the police don’t believe you, so you hunt him down yourself. You eventually find him, and through some miracle, you actually convince them to go to the police and confess. All the cops, lawyers, judges, etc… are satisfied that it’s a real confession, not under duress, and so he goes to jail for the crime, and you’re exonerated. So what happens to you? Yes, you did commit a crime, but had you not, you would have gone to jail for an even bigger crime. Do they basically say “one hand washed the other,” or do you still go to jail? I mean…seems kind of a dick move…sending you to jail because you prevented a big injustice. My gut feeling says you will probably either get a simple plea agreement, probation or something, or go to trial and have a pretty good chance of jury nullification. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-commit-a-crime-to-prove-your-innocence-of-a-bigger-crime/603947/2 "2011-11-24T03:25:26Z")
Very likely the State is going to try it’s damnedest to get you sent to jail for the breaking, otherwise every one incarcerated will attempt to break out and “find the real killer, thief, rapist, tax fraudster”. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-commit-a-crime-to-prove-your-innocence-of-a-bigger-crime/603947/3 "2011-11-24T03:48:09Z")
There’s also the option of a pardon from the executive authority of the jurisdiction (the governor of the state or the President) with respect to whatever crimes you may have committed in the course of escaping custody. Strictly speaking, a pardon means you are guilty of the crime in question, but they’re forgiving you and agreeing not to punish you for it, which fits–you really did break this and that law in the course of escaping to prove your innocence, but it would arguably be an outrage to justice (not to mention public opinion) to send you back to prison. Of course, this will also depend on the circumstances of your escape. If you escape after (by sheer coincidence and no contrivance on your part) a freight train demolishes the prison bus you were riding in–stopping on the way to heroically save the life of a guard at risk to your own life–the law may view you differently than if you killed or seriously injured anyone in the course of escaping. ---
**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:** [November 24, 2011, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-commit-a-crime-to-prove-your-innocence-of-a-bigger-crime/603947/4 "2011-11-24T04:06:24Z")
A prosecutor’s ethical duty is to see that justice is done, not just to get a conviction. Nevertheless, you’re probably going to be getting yourself into a lot more trouble by breaking out, even with the best of motives. That’s pure Hollywood. > [@MEBuckner](#): > > …If you escape after (by sheer coincidence and no contrivance on your part) a freight train demolishes the prison bus you were riding in–stopping on the way to heroically save the life of a guard at risk to your own life–the law may view you differently than if you killed or seriously injured anyone in the course of escaping. I see what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![JWT\_Kottekoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@JWT\_Kottekoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JWT_Kottekoe)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-commit-a-crime-to-prove-your-innocence-of-a-bigger-crime/603947/5 "2011-11-24T07:55:00Z")
It helps if Tommy Lee Jones is the cop trying to catch you after your escape: The Fugitive (Harrison Ford / Tommy Lee Jones) Double Jeopardy (Ashley Judd / Tommy Lee Jones) ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-commit-a-crime-to-prove-your-innocence-of-a-bigger-crime/603947/6 "2011-11-24T08:02:22Z")
He says he doesn’t care. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-commit-a-crime-to-prove-your-innocence-of-a-bigger-crime/603947/7 "2011-11-24T08:11:18Z")
In the first or second _Book of Lists_ by David Wallechinsky, Irving Wallace and Amy Wallace there is a list of, I think, Great Miscarriages of Justice. As I recall one story was about an innocent guy who was imprisoned for taking part in a bank robbery. Rather than rat on a friend the actual robber had fingered this guy as his accomplice. While in prison he heard from another inmate who the real accomplice was and escaped, tracked him down, captured him and took him to the police. The real crook confessed but the hero of the story was returned to jail because he had been lawfully convicted. Maybe someone with a copy of the book can provide some more details. I am trusting to memory about a book I read 30 odd years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-commit-a-crime-to-prove-your-innocence-of-a-bigger-crime/603947/8 "2011-11-24T08:38:25Z")
If you think that’s a miscarriage of justice, google “McMartin preschool” some time. IIRC even the former prosecutors of the case have been begging for clemency for the people they convicted, but the governor or others refuse to do so because to admit error would undermine confidence in the justice system, or something like that. I may have details wrong, but not gonna look it up because I don’t feel like getting angry this afternoon. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-commit-a-crime-to-prove-your-innocence-of-a-bigger-crime/603947/9 "2011-11-24T08:38:44Z")
I would think you are very unlikely to be charged with prison breach if you have established that you were wrongly convicted in the first place (as in, you get your conviction formally reversed). But if you committed _other_ crimes like, say, killing or assaulting someone in the course of your escape, you could well be charged for those. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-commit-a-crime-to-prove-your-innocence-of-a-bigger-crime/603947/10 "2011-11-24T14:54:27Z")
Basically the plot of the film _Negotiator_ (Samuel L. in the lead role): faced with bogus charges, he kidnaps some people at gunpoint, eventually tricks the head conspirator into confessing, and apparently gets off scot-free at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-commit-a-crime-to-prove-your-innocence-of-a-bigger-crime/603947/11 "2011-11-25T13:52:51Z")
IRL the u.k. police at least would bust your arse as heavily as they could. And no I don’t agree with that. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-commit-a-crime-to-prove-your-innocence-of-a-bigger-crime/603947/12 "2011-11-25T14:14:34Z")
Of course you are guilty of lawfully eescaping custody… The question would be whether the DA wants the hassle of the trial. If you can afford a fancy bad-ass lawyer, the jury is going to hear how you were railroaded in loving detail, plus how incompetent the cops and DA’s office were. (IANAL - any lawyer comment on whether the DA can likely keep that detail out of court as irrelevant?) So it’s not that you can get off, it’s whether the DA/state/governor will want the expense of a trial where you might get off, and be seen persecuting an “innocent man”. Another possibility is whether the charges will be droppped over the negotiations in the lawsuit for wrongful imprisonment. “Take 10 million off the demands if you want us to drop the charges…” ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-commit-a-crime-to-prove-your-innocence-of-a-bigger-crime/603947/13 "2011-11-25T14:44:25Z")
What specific crime would you be guilty of for willfully evading recapture after escaping? ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-commit-a-crime-to-prove-your-innocence-of-a-bigger-crime/603947/14 "2011-11-25T18:21:46Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > What specific crime would you be guilty of for willfully evading recapture after escaping? Escaping lawful custody is itself a serious crime. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-commit-a-crime-to-prove-your-innocence-of-a-bigger-crime/603947/15 "2011-11-25T19:37:49Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > If you think that’s a miscarriage of justice, google “McMartin preschool” some time. IIRC even the former prosecutors of the case have been begging for clemency for the people they convicted, but the governor or others refuse to do so because to admit error would undermine confidence in the justice system, or something like that. I may have details wrong, but not gonna look it up because I don’t feel like getting angry this afternoon. Abbsolutely, positively NOBODY was ever CONVICTED in the McMartin trials. [Cite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMartin_preschool_trial). The whole thing was a product of therumors of ritual satantic sexual abuse of children that have never even been proven, though the topic was heavily investigated and written about in the 1980’s. A lot of totally innocent people’s lives were destroyed by it. ---
**Author:** ![AndyLee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@AndyLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyLee)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-commit-a-crime-to-prove-your-innocence-of-a-bigger-crime/603947/16 "2011-11-25T20:01:02Z")
It’s like Linda Tripp, she commited a crime by taping but was giving immunity. So if you were really innocent, they would likely charge you and work out a plea deal. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-commit-a-crime-to-prove-your-innocence-of-a-bigger-crime/603947/17 "2011-11-25T21:07:35Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > In the first or second _Book of Lists_ by David Wallechinsky, Irving Wallace and Amy Wallace there is a list of, I think, Great Miscarriages of Justice. > > As I recall one story was about an innocent guy who was imprisoned for taking part in a bank robbery. Rather than rat on a friend the actual robber had fingered this guy as his accomplice. While in prison he heard from another inmate who the real accomplice was and escaped, tracked him down, captured him and took him to the police. The real crook confessed but the hero of the story was returned to jail because he had been lawfully convicted. > > Maybe someone with a copy of the book can provide some more details. I am trusting to memory about a book I read 30 odd years ago. That reminds me of the old Roman judge [Piso.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_justitia_ruat_caelum) > [@](#): > > Seneca tells of Gnaeus Piso, a Roman governor and lawmaker, when he was angry, ordering the execution of a soldier who had returned from a leave of absence without his comrade, on the ground that if the man did not produce his companion, he had presumably killed the latter. As the condemned man was presenting his neck to the executioner’s sword, there suddenly appeared the very comrade who was supposedly murdered. The centurion overseeing the execution halted the proceedings and led the condemned man back to Piso, expecting a reprieve. But Piso mounted the tribunal in a rage, and ordered the three soldiers to be executed. He ordered the death of the man who was to have been executed, because the sentence had already been passed; he also ordered the death of the centurion who was in charge of the original execution, for failing to perform his duty; and finally, he ordered the death of the man who had been supposed to have been murdered, because he had been the cause of death of two innocent men. Fiat justitia ruat caelum! Let justice be done though the heavens fall! ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-commit-a-crime-to-prove-your-innocence-of-a-bigger-crime/603947/18 "2011-11-25T21:11:58Z")
And of course, if you play demolition derby on the deck of a ferry to escape (If I`m not mixing up my movies from a while ago), don`t expect that all will be forgiven when you find the real culprit.