What do you think of this court scenario?
Lets say a man is found guilty of murder and sent to prison for life. 10 years later, it's discovered that the judge and all the jury members were "payed off" to find the man guilty. What would happen?
Answers:
If it could be proven, which wouldn't be easy, then a judge would order that the the man be released from prison and the judge and jury would be subject to criminal charges, anywhere from perjury to conspiracy to fraud. The guy who was wrongfully convicted would probably get a couple of million dollars for his trouble.
Ask a lawyer... There are loopholes in a case like that, so the thing to do would be to ask a law firm in your city for advice.
Cash payout by the city or lawsuit with the same effect.
Depends on what the statute of limitations is on jury corruption. I think the judge would at least be disbarred. And if there was absolute proof, I suspect civil proceedings would be a lot more punishing than incarceration.
It's "paid off." It depends on whether the man is guilty or not. Just because the judge and jury were paid to find that way doesn't automatically mean he was not guilty.
He would probably be released until the DA decided whether to retry him or not. The DA would also want to file charges against the judge and jurors who were still alive, not to mention whoever did the paying.
There are several vehicles for attacking a conviction after the conviction entered. Some are specifically designed for claims that were not shown by the record at the time of the trial. So, by use of those mechanisms, he could get a new trial. If it were clear that he was innocent, and there was no contrary evidence, then a court could even order that he be set free without a new trial.
The judge would loose his bench, they would all face conspiracy charges and the state would probably pay restitution.
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