# You're unjustly convicted of a felony and sentenced to prison. Do you run if you can? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 7, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-unjustly-convicted-of-a-felony-and-sentenced-to-prison-do-you-run-if-you-can/495677 "2009-05-07T18:25:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kitemaker\_chuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a88e4f/32.png) [@kitemaker\_chuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitemaker_chuck)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-unjustly-convicted-of-a-felony-and-sentenced-to-prison-do-you-run-if-you-can/495677/41 "2009-05-08T04:56:41Z")
I’d run for sure!! However, if I was innocent, had no place to run to, and knew that I’d be facing a long prison sentence no matter what, I think I’d get me a weapon, walk into a bank and then pull a strong arm bank robbery, (and try not to get shot) and be very cooperative when the police tell me to drop my weapon. Surviving that (hopefully), I’d go on trial for bank robbery and hopefully go into prison with a little “prestige”. Aren’t people who rob banks towards the top of the prisoner hierachy? ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-unjustly-convicted-of-a-felony-and-sentenced-to-prison-do-you-run-if-you-can/495677/42 "2009-05-08T05:01:10Z")
I doubt I would. I’d be too scared of getting caught. To be sure I wouldn’t get caught would require significant planning on my part, which would preclude the sort of scenario the OP has in mind. But if I were sure I could get away? Say, if I _were_ released on bond? I probably would. But I’d have to think about it. It wouldn’t be an easy decision. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-unjustly-convicted-of-a-felony-and-sentenced-to-prison-do-you-run-if-you-can/495677/43 "2009-05-08T05:33:52Z")
I wouldn’t. Being on the run is essentialy the same as being in prison, only the walls are farther apart and life’s more stressful… It must be hell being forever cut off from the people and places you loved, living in constant fear because you know that your entire existence is at the mercy of a single slip-up, an extradition treaty, a persistent INTERPOL agent etc… ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-unjustly-convicted-of-a-felony-and-sentenced-to-prison-do-you-run-if-you-can/495677/44 "2009-05-08T06:28:05Z")
Does the Innocence Project actually prove anyone’s innocence? I was under the impression that all they could do was prove that a particular piece of DNA evidence does not belong to the accused. In some cases this is enough, but in other cases the DNA evidence is not necessarily linked to the crime, just assumed to be so. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-unjustly-convicted-of-a-felony-and-sentenced-to-prison-do-you-run-if-you-can/495677/45 "2009-05-08T07:51:38Z")
Being on the run is hell, even if you “make it”. From what I gather, real-life fugitives tend to be mostly relieved when they finally get caught. Being in prison is hell, too, but the level of hell depends on the type of prison. The few prisons I’ve personally seen you can read, watch TV, work out and regularly see your loved ones (including solo time with one’s spouse) in, with little fear of violence. Then there are those South African joints where you’ll be taking it up the ass year-round, or dying gruesomely, your pick. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-unjustly-convicted-of-a-felony-and-sentenced-to-prison-do-you-run-if-you-can/495677/46 "2009-05-08T08:08:45Z")
Does the prison have individual cells and internet access? Maybe I could get a job as a literacy teacher, then an upgrade to computer literacy… I would be no good at living hand to mouth, the only jobs I’d be able to get without my national ID and SS card would be cleaning houses or helping care for old folks or kids. Nah. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-unjustly-convicted-of-a-felony-and-sentenced-to-prison-do-you-run-if-you-can/495677/47 "2009-05-08T08:20:39Z")
They can put my footsteps in prison because that’s all they’ll have of me. ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-unjustly-convicted-of-a-felony-and-sentenced-to-prison-do-you-run-if-you-can/495677/48 "2009-05-08T09:53:57Z")
Not only would I run, but I’ve had for many years my plan worked out for exactly how I’d get away and what I’d do next. This is in spite of the fact that I’m a completley law-abiding citizen who’s only contact with the legal system has been as the victim of crime. I’m not telling you what my plan is, of course. I won’t even tell my husband or best friend. For my plan to work it depends on total secrecy… ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-unjustly-convicted-of-a-felony-and-sentenced-to-prison-do-you-run-if-you-can/495677/49 "2009-05-08T10:20:58Z")
If it were a great injustice and/or dishonor I might consider committing seppuku. Otherwise, no, as running would compound the dishonor of the situation and likely prove fruitless anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-unjustly-convicted-of-a-felony-and-sentenced-to-prison-do-you-run-if-you-can/495677/50 "2009-05-08T11:53:24Z")
Madagascar seems interesting. I’d steer clear of Togo - I’ve bad experiences of West Africa. Taiwan also might be a suitable haven. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-unjustly-convicted-of-a-felony-and-sentenced-to-prison-do-you-run-if-you-can/495677/51 "2009-05-08T12:12:19Z")
I’d run, or suicide if necessary to avoid 20 years in prison. And if I’m “unjustly accused”, assuming that means I’m actually not guilty, then I won’t feel the slightest moral obligation to stay. The law in that case is in the wrong - objectively, not just in my opinion, even if no one else knows it. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-unjustly-convicted-of-a-felony-and-sentenced-to-prison-do-you-run-if-you-can/495677/52 "2009-05-08T12:19:26Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I’d run, or suicide if necessary to avoid 20 years in prison. And if I’m “unjustly accused”, assuming that means I’m actually not guilty, then I won’t feel the slightest moral obligation to stay. The law in that case is in the wrong - objectively, not just in my opinion, even if no one else knows it. Yah, I was also thinking I’d rather off myself than face significant jailtime. 5 years I could probably take, 25 to life ? Fuck that. I don’t give a hoot about isolation, and I can probably endure senseless violence - but living by stringent, rigidly and mindlessly enforced external rules without any time outs, privacy or opportunity to let your guard down ? I probably can’t, and I certainly won’t. Shoot straight, ye bastards ! Don’t make a mess of it. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-unjustly-convicted-of-a-felony-and-sentenced-to-prison-do-you-run-if-you-can/495677/53 "2009-05-08T12:25:32Z")
I’d run. I’m too pretty for prison. ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-unjustly-convicted-of-a-felony-and-sentenced-to-prison-do-you-run-if-you-can/495677/54 "2009-05-08T13:52:58Z")
Man, a lot of people are running. I could run…I could run tonight. A friend of mine, he’s got this helicopter. He does traffic reports for GON. He asked me to come with him. Do you think it’s right to run? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-unjustly-convicted-of-a-felony-and-sentenced-to-prison-do-you-run-if-you-can/495677/55 "2009-05-08T16:34:37Z")
> [@Number](#): > > Do you think it’s right to run? Who me? Depends on the scenario. In the corrupt-justice-system scenario described above, I thinkk running is an ethical choice; one has no obligation to obey the dicates of an immoral system. ---
**Author:** ![Tixenfleaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9a140/32.png) [@Tixenfleaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tixenfleaz)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-unjustly-convicted-of-a-felony-and-sentenced-to-prison-do-you-run-if-you-can/495677/56 "2009-05-09T17:08:26Z")
> [@Number](#): > > Man, a lot of people are running. > > I could run…I could run tonight. A friend of mine, he’s got this helicopter. He does traffic reports for GON. He asked me to come with him. > > Do you think it’s right to run? Well in the event of zombie apocalypse, a prison might not be a bad place to be, as long as nobody gets shanked or anything.😃 In response to the OP, I would run. But it would likely only forestall the inevitable. As soon as I saw so much as a cub scout I would probably shriek like a scalded cheerleader and run straight into fast traffic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-unjustly-convicted-of-a-felony-and-sentenced-to-prison-do-you-run-if-you-can/495677.md?page=2)