murder USA

[captainkirk]

a film i saw last week showed that a man was put in jail for 15 year's for killing his wife. but it was all a set up and he did not do it . he did 15 year's for a crime he did not do. so when he got out he found his wife. then in the middle of of a town center he shot her dead yet he was not done for it because he had already done the time for the crime. but could this also apply here in the UK

[Hapus]

The law is "double jeopary" and it was scrapped in the UK - it was that you couldn't be tried twice for the same crime, so in your example, he had already stood trial, and had been found guilty. In the UK, the law was scrapped in 2005 I think, and mostly refers to cases where people have stood trial and have been found innocent.

[mariner2]

It's a seriously stupid law - if someone is tried for a crime and found innocent he cannot be retried for the same crime even if some irrefutable evidence turns up later.
Whatever is the thinking behind a law like this?

[jake-the-peg]

It's not quite as stupid as it sounds and has not been scrapped in it's entirity. For a case to be brought again it has to be a serious offence and there has to be "new and compelling evidence."

Double jeopardy is there to prevent prosecutions being brought until a jury can be found who'll convict. Allowing multiple retrials on the same evidence would undermine the presumption of evidence on which UK law is based

It places a requirement on the prosecution to bring the strongest case it can and discourages sloppy prosecutions.

[meglet]

mariner2 why on earth do you say "he cannot be retried for same crime". If new evidence appears after someone is acquitted that proves their guilt as you say why the hell should they get away with it?