Except for the fact it may be seen as a prosecutorial witch-hunt
why is it an "...impactable possibility to charge two people for the same crime"?
" Three can keep a secret... if two are dead "
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MovieChat Forums > Presumed Innocent (1990) Discussion > Except for the fact it may be seen as a ...
The actual line is: "practical impossibility."
In this case it's a simple concept: if prosecutors tried one person for a crime, who ended up acquitted and then charged a different person, they would have essentially already made the second guy's defence in the previous trial.
The evidentiary burden is beyond a reasonable doubt.
If you originally thought it was someone else, enough to charge and try them, it makes it almost impossible not to have sufficient doubt about the second prosecution.
A practical impossibility because it's unlikely to succeed...but not actually impossible.
Who else could they have charged? Early in the movie, Rusty admits to his wife that they have no leads. Besides, all of the evidence pointed at Rusty so I don't see how they could have charged someone else. So, unless Rusty turned his wife in, there would be no way that someone else could be charged and tried for the same crime at least in this situation...
shareBecause it goes against the law.
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