I was convicted of killing a man that was tortured and burned to death. To make a long story short I was innocent. My wife has been working for 2 decades trying to prove I didn't do it. Crazy thing, she found out that he's alive and living not to far from me.
My wife says if I kill him I can't be convicted again. Is that true?
2006-08-23 09:13:21 · 42 answers · asked by bigol500 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
I'm sure you could be convicted of something else. Perhaps assault with a deadly weapon, or manslaughter. You can't be convicted of the same charge again though. If it's worth doing a bit (or a lot) more time, go for it.
If he lives close though, you could just make his life a living hell. Post his name and the circumstances all around the community. Talk to the police and find out whether his not coming forward is illegal (I'm sure it is). Kick his dog, eat his cat. This guy should be acting like a scared little woman right about now, and making him live in terror for years would be quite satisfying, I'm sure.
2006-08-23 09:22:47 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I understand the double jeopardy deal in that you can not be tried twice for the same crime, but if you kill him now, it would not be considered the same crime. That law was passed to protect someone for actually being tired and convicted but sentenced say a light sentice of like two to ten years.
If some other folks thought that was to light a sentence they could try and find another court or judge to take the case and tire again with the plan to make the penalty tougher.
But there are a number of different ways this could happen, but the main idea is to keep others courts and jurisdictions from retiring the same case. It was a law to protect the court more than protect the accused.
But if the accual person is still alive then the law wants to know who is dead. Also, you were an innocent man and I think there should be compensation for your lost twenty years.
I don't know if that compensation is possible, say counseling, health care food stamps, educational opportunity and so on seem your right to have. Good luck.
2006-08-23 09:50:10 · answer #2 · answered by zclifton2 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If this is not just a troll question and you really were convicted of murdering this person in the past......
Yes, you can be convicted of murder if you go out and kill this person now. While it is true that you can not be tried twice for the same offense, it is technically not the same offense. In your first trial you were convicted of murdering a particular person at a particular time and place (or at least a timeframe). Now, 20 years later, you would be committing a NEW CRIME and therefore WOULD be tried for the commission of that crime.
This is a classic law question that can really get people wrapped up in the "double jeopardy" discussion but the key is that you can not be tried for the SAME CRIME more than once. That said, can you recall any of the incidents where someone was found NOT GUILTY and then the prosecution turned around and at a later date retried the same person for the same crime BUT USED ENTIRELY NEW EVIDENCE? It can and has been done and the evidence used against you in a trial for murdering someone 20 years after you were convicted of murdering them would, by default, be entirely new evidence as it did not exist at the time of the original trial.
And then there is always the Federal "civil rights" violation charges which the Feds can toss on you after you're tried for the crime. You know, the ones they use when a criminal trial produces a politically incorrect verdit (because of the EVIDENCE) and then the Feds step in with their trumped up "civil rights" violation charges to hammer you so the masses will stop rioting. You remember the Rodney King case. Several of the officers (I think it was 4) were found not guilty of a bunch of charges at trial and the Feds immediately grabbed them up and slapped them with "civil rights" charges to calm the masses.
So YES you can be tried for murder in this case.
I would suggest a better course of action would be to sue the government for wrongfully convicting you. Sue the "deceased" for not having come forward and therefore violating YOUR civil rights. You could end up with a nice chunk of change from teh government and everything that the "deceased" owns now and in the future. Now isn't that much more appealing than another 20 years in the slammer or a needle in the arm?
2006-08-23 09:31:09 · answer #3 · answered by StaffSergeant C 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's a classic law school question, and the plot behind the movie Double Jeopardy.
The technical answer is that a person cannot be convicted twice for the same crime as a result of the same single criminal action. So, if someone was already convicted of murdering a person, they cannot be convicted a second time of murdering the same person.
In practice, there are so many legal loopholes that can be used to deal with this situation, the prosecutor will find a way to punish the second crime.
But that doesn't mean you can't try to use the discovery that this supposed victim was alive as grounds for a new appeal. Consult an attorney for that option.
2006-08-23 09:15:06 · answer #4 · answered by coragryph 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Ethically and morally NO
However if you are asking if you can be convicted and go back to prison for killing this person who you were convicted of killing 20 years ago. The answer would be no, double jeopardy
If I were you I would contact a lawyer and provide proof that this person is still alive. Most likely you will receive some sort of compensation.
2006-08-23 09:18:54 · answer #5 · answered by Miss_Behavin98 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ok . Not being a laywer and tending not to rely on Hollywood movies, I cant say if you'd legally be able to kill him. But you've already suffered for 20 years without freedom, why kill him and go to hell so that you can suffer for eternity. Hes already made your life a hell so dont screw with that. Plus onces hes dead, hes dead.. sure he may deserve it if he did it on purpose, but you could get soooo much more satisfaction from watching him suffer. I mean im sure he could get sent to prison for what hes done.
You and your wife need to dedicate a few more years to finding out ALL of the charges that he could get and try to stack them up so that he gets life. Make sure he gets sent to a crappy prison where he doesnt stand a chance and then visit him twice a year to make him miserable.
Publicize his wrongdoing and your innocence and make sure that his credibility is shot. He should never be trusted again.
See doesnt that sound farrrr more fun than strangling and burning him to death?
P.S. Sorry for your loss. That was a big part of ur life to give up.
2006-08-24 08:04:13 · answer #6 · answered by LN 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it's double jeopardy. You cannot be convicted of commiting the same crime twice.
But I would suggest you contact the police and have charges pressed against him. You can sue him and he can also do a lot of jail time. Contact a lawyer to see what your options are.
Killing him will not get your 20 years back. You will only regret it in the long run.
2006-08-23 09:20:17 · answer #7 · answered by starlet_80 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's called double jeopardy. Why don't you sue the State where you were convicted of the crime and leave the man alone. Is it possible he didn't know when you stood trial for killing him? If you spent 20 years in prison for killing a man, didn't the State Prosecutor have a habius corpus? Didn't they have positive identification? How could you be prosecuted? I'd certainly get myself a very good homicide attorney and sue the pants off of them.........
2006-08-23 09:23:24 · answer #8 · answered by skyeblue 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think I would just make him WISH he were dead for what he did to you. But seriously what you should do is appeal the conviction and get it over turned, get a pardon whatever it takes to have this conviction taken off your record.
If you literally kill the man then the police will find some kind of loophole and convict you of something. Then you just spend more time in prison.
That is why I said.......find him off some where by himself and just make him WISH he were dead........lol
2006-08-23 14:00:42 · answer #9 · answered by ETxYellowRose 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely True! You may kill him and you can not be legally tried for the same case twice. You would get away with it because you've already been convicted of killing him. But would your conscience support a murder? And wouldn't your wife's actions for the last 20 years have been in vain? And also wouldn't you lose your right to claim that you are not a murderer?
2006-08-23 10:19:48 · answer #10 · answered by Fairy 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋