First Murderer - 10 Binary
Yes, the title is supposed to be punny. (It's binary code for 2... or too binary! :P )
But SPOILERS, this is about the quest "First Murderer" where you track down the proof that the Turian already convicted of murdering his friend and what happens. No matter what happens, it really comes down to two options with two-ish results. You act with 'emotion' and exile him for the murder anyways or you analytically decide that he goes free. If you exile him, he's happy with his wife as an exile. If you don't, his wife leaves him and he goes back into cryo.
He is totally innocent of committing murder. But he is guilty of attempted murder, which is a pretty serious crime itself. Not as harsh as committing murder, but still with stiff penalties. If I was a writer, I'd actually note that he's guilty of attempted murder. And since exile is their harshest punishment, he would get a smaller penalty. Probably being stuck back into cryo until they have the resources to feed prisoners long term (and maybe build a real jail somewhere).
Any thoughts to improve this? Or shoot it in the foot?
@Stubbs-WH wrote:
@jpcerutti1 wrote:
@Stubbs-WH wrote:
@jpcerutti1 wrote:
@CasperTheLich wrote:actually, does being falsely convicted of murder and then exonerated, make being retried for the attempted murder of the same person during the same incident double-jeopardy, legally speaking?
No, they are two different crimes. Even in a system where double jeopardy could be an issue claiming innocence of one crime because you were busy committing a different crime will not keep you from being charged with the other one if acquitted/exonerated of the first.
I respectfully disagree.Nilken was already convicted by the time Ryder arrives on scene. The latest he could have been charged with attempted murder would be later in the trial once the jury is deciding their verdict. The jury is able to acquit him of the murder charge, but find him guilty of the lesser charge of attempted murder at that point, but no later. Exonerating him and then attempting to put him on trial for essentially the same crime, but by using a lesser included offense, would be considered Double Jeopardy.
That's assuming Double Jeopardy is a thing on-board the Nexus. We don't know if they are using Alliance law or attempting to implement a new system of law in Andromeda.
What do you disagree with? If the trial is over there will be no acquittal. It is over. There can be a suspension of sentence and remanding him over for a new trial - but that's not an option you are given. We're only allowed to either let the conviction stand, or, to pardon and drop all charges.
That only would apply if attempted murder was one of an array of options a jury was given with his case. Any additional crimes a trial or investigation uncovers are not somehow covered by a trial on a separate charge. Again, you are assuming US law applies... in the majority of the world and in a different galaxy it probably doesn't. Nor does double jeopardy apply here under US laws. If one of the charges they left off the list for a jury to consider was unlawful discharge of a weapon they could go back and try him for that as well.
I think you are confusing the judicial system's ability to combine multiple charges into a single trial and double jeopardy. Charges are usually combined as cost containment - but you can be tried on each charge individually too - and they will certainly have an additional trial if your alibi for the first trial is you were committing some other crime.
What I had disagreed with initially was the two separate crimes bit. Wouldn't attempted murder be a lesser included charge to murder?
The charge for attempted murder consists of; 1) having a weapon. 2) intent to kill the victim.
A murder charge would include those previously mentioned, but with the actual act of killing the victim. Unless I'm misunderstanding something, I believe that exonerating the individual of murder would basically clear him/her of the crime, and that trying to get them for one of the lesser included charges to the crime (murder) would constitute double jeopardy, and that a retrial would not be given.
No. The only way it would be considered double jeopardy is if they presented the jury with a cascading slate of charges, which they sometimes do, and attempted murder was one of the options the jury could of originally find him guilty of. With a dead guy they usually don't. US law/trials usually only has mention of the weapon used to commit a felony if that will change/worsen the classification (resulting in a harsher sentence) or move the trial jurisdiction to federal court (again, usually harsher sentences). A lot of times they don't bother to add all the minor charges in the trial - since the sentences are almost always concurrent if they were all charges for the same crime (instead of a series of crimes) and there's not a lot gained by tacking on a lot of short concurrent sentences with a longer sentence. If you're acquitted, that becomes an option though.
If you're going to serve, even with parole, more time than you would have gotten for the minor charges there's no point in adding them.
Really, all of that is moot. If your original judgement is ruled invalid for *any* reason once you've been convicted all you "win" is a new trial. Double jeopardy keeps you from being tried again on the same charges, if you were acquitted, even if there is new evidence. If something like this happened in RL the judgement would be overturned on appeal and the defendant would be granted a new trial, if the prosecutor wished to file charges again - not exonerated. Odds are, the second time around they'd go with attempted murder... but they could still try for murder again as well.
Now, if they acquitted and further digging found he actually did kill him they couldn't try it again because of double jeopardy.🥳
