
Originally Posted by
Shol'va
Yeah it wasn't that the jury thought that she was innocent, just that there wasn't enough evidence to prove she was guilty of murder. But somehow some day the truth will probably come out but by then it will be too late to retry her as the law prevents a person of being retried called double jeopardy.
Double jeopardy is a procedural defense that forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same, or similar charges following a legitimate acquittal or conviction. At common law a defendant may plead autrefois acquit or autrefois convict (a peremptory plea), meaning the defendant has been acquitted or convicted of the same offense.[1]
If this issue is raised, evidence will be placed before the court, which will normally rule as a preliminary matter whether the plea is substantiated, and if it so finds, the projected trial will be prevented from proceeding. In many countries the guarantee against being "twice put in jeopardy" is a constitutional right; these include Canada, India, Mexico, and the United States.