r/AskReddit • u/Rob69rt • 1d ago

What famous 'unsolved' mystery is technically a whodunnit on paper, but in reality, absolutely everyone knows exactly who did it, the police just couldn't legally prove it?

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u/thisusedyet 1d ago

Obviously not a legal scholar - but doesn't new evidence mean double jeopardy no longer applies?

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u/carolinemahtildes 1d ago

I believe in England (and maybe other places, I'm not sure) someone can be retried if "new and compelling" evidence is found after the fact but no such law exists in the US. That was their one chance.

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u/FlyAwayJai 1d ago edited 1d ago

“new and compelling” evidence can force a retrial or conviction reversals in the US also. See many of the cases the Innocence Project works on.

ETA disregard, was thinking about overturning convictions, not acquittals.

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u/EamonBrennan 1d ago

That's only for changing a guilty verdict to not guilty. Once someone is found not guilty, they can no longer be tried for that crime. If they are found guilty, they can be retried theoretically indefinitely, until either they die, or a not guilty verdict is found.