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To: Mark was here
The only reason the cops in the Rodney King trial were tried again was because of the riots. The families of O.J.'s victims tried something similar when he benefited from "jury nullification," but I don't think they ever collected the money awarded them.

The double jeopardy clause in the 5th amendment literally has to do with the actual punishment for convicted felons--"nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb..."

That meant if the rope broke in the course of a hanging, and the person being hanged was still alive, they couldn't get another rope and try again.

195 posted on 12/16/2006 8:29:13 AM PST by Verginius Rufus
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To: Verginius Rufus
The double jeopardy clause in the 5th amendment literally has to do with the actual punishment for convicted felons--"nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb..."

That meant if the rope broke in the course of a hanging, and the person being hanged was still alive, they couldn't get another rope and try again.

I have never heard such an explanation. I would think that most folks would take Double Jeopardy is the notion that the government can not keep retrying you over and over until they get their conviction, effectively jailing you in spite of the fact that a jury decided that the government could not prove it's case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Civil Rights laws are evil and wicked because they allow the government to retry the same case over with the fig leaf that there are new charges. If people gave a damn about the Constitution, they would not accept the same crime being defined multiple ways, merely to circumvent the clear intention of the prohibition of Double Jeopardy.

I'm just an uneducated schmuck, and I'm sure someone else can explain what I'm trying to say, more clearly.

204 posted on 12/16/2006 10:14:47 AM PST by Mark was here (How can they be called "Homeless" if their home is a field?.)
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