For book research - unserved sentences and being free again

[Invincible]

I am researching to write a book and am a bit stuck.

A lawyer friend of an ex-colleague of mine told me the term for this but now, when I want to use it for a story line, I am stumped and going crazy trying to remember it! Wonder if someone can help:

If someone is sentenced for a crime (money related in business) and receives a short sentence and then absconds and is never found and then decides to return to where he came from, how long is it before he can return and not be touched by the law for the crime he was convicted of? I know there is a legal term for this (the one my lawyer associate told me) but I cannot for the life of me remember.

To give a bit of background to help with what I'm looking for - when he told me it, we were joking about my colleague who is Australian and was in fancy dress as a convict. The lawyer friend said that if he was on the run and he had been away for so many years (I think it was 5 years) that he was "the term I'm looking for" and could not be rearrested and sent to prison to serve his sentence.

Thanks for any help in advance.

Thanks

[auzzie]

Does it come under "enforcement of a sentence"?

[dzug]

The legal term I think is Statute of Limitations so maybe 'beyond the Statute of Limitations' is the term you are looking for. The period of time however varies wildly depending on what jurisdiction you are in and the nature of the crime.

For murder in many countries there is no limit - in some for minor crimes it may be as little as 6 months.

[Invincible]

Thanks but what I want is the term for when a sentence had been passed (the person has been convicted and sentenced) and the person then runs off and does not serve the sentence and then, after a certain period of time, would be able to return without having to serve the original sentence or being touched for it. I think statute of limitations applies to the amount of time between an offence and when someone wants to prosecute which is different to what I am looking for.

Any more thoughts would be welcome.

[BagPussAA]

I thought that once you had been sentenced, you will have to serve the time once they have caught you again.. Just look at Ronnie Biggs.. He was on the run for about 30 years but still went to jail when he returned to this country