Poke

[xenith]

In the hope that this will go bug someone else instead of me:

Unsolved murder case reopened after X years.

Previous investigators had given up due to "insufficient evidence" or similar but new investigators believe they were hiding/protecting someone.

New investigators solve the case but decide not to arrest murderer, for the same reasons the previous team had.

Which are?

Requirements that murderer had actually & deliberately murdered, not manslaghter etc. & there was/is sufficient evidence.

Comments

Huh?

[(Anonymous)]

Care to explain the point of the post?

If you need legal advice, I have a super-keen legal-eagle here with me but she needs more detail.

Would you like some advice without prejudice (of course)? Our rates are very reasonable (read: Very High).

Murder doesn't have to be 'actual or deliberate', the act can be so negligent that it is deemed to be murder, e.g. a hit and run or randomly shooting into a crowd.

As for the evidence bit, how 'insufficient' is it? The Public Prosecutor has discretion, but needs to take into account the likelihood of success and the relevant cost to the community.

[girliejones.livejournal.com]

POlice don't actually prosecute most murders. One reason is if they think it was self-defense or under duress and the person will never murder again, then they don't see the point. It happens a lot in domestic violence cases.

Re: Huh?

[monissaw.livejournal.com]

>Care to explain the point of the post?

If you have to ask...

>Murder doesn't have to be 'actual or deliberate', the act can be so >negligent that it is deemed to be murder, e.g. a hit and run or randomly >shooting into a crowd.

It has to be for this scenario.

>As for the evidence bit, how 'insufficient' is it? The Public Prosecutor >has discretion, but needs to take into account the likelihood of success .>and the relevant cost to the community.

"Sufficient" being, well, you'd expect them found guilty short of everyone involved spontaneously combusting.

The sort of thing I'm thinking of is a situation where, if a regular person was involved, they'd probably be arrest, tried etc and all would go as expected but because of something in this case, it's felt better to let it lie i.e. a person who occupies a position such that removing them from it could mean the downfall of the nation

[monissaw.livejournal.com]

*nods* That's what I was trying to get past with the deliberate & whatever criteria.

Think it'd work better in a different world though, so I can control the variables more.