Statute of Limitations For Murder Cases in California
There is no statute of limitations in the state of California for any offense which is punishable by death or life in prison, including murder. The embezzlement of public funds also has no statute of limitations.
Perhaps one of the primary reasons there is not statute of limitations for the crime of murder, aside from the nature of the crime, is that forensics can change rapidly over time, and those who make the laws feel loved ones of a murder victim are entitled to closure, no matter how long that might take.
Proving Innocence Decades After the Alleged Crime
Unfortunately, for the person being charged with murder ten, twenty, thirty or even more years, after the fact, there is a downside to the lack of statute of limitations. Imagine trying to locate the very alibi witnesses who could definitively prove your innocence forty or fifty years after the fact. Your alibi witnesses:
- Could be dead,
- They may have moved and cannot be located, or
- Their memory of that time could have grown dim over the years.
In the same vein, evidence which could exonerate you may have gone missing over the years, or could be present, but degraded to the point it is rendered useless.
In the end, it can be almost impossible for a defendant to receive a fair trial, if authorities have been “sitting” on something so long that the evidence is no longer provable—the entire efficiency of the system goes into a downward spiral.
What person can accurately describe something which occurred twenty years ago, particularly when eyewitness accounts are notoriously unreliable in the first place—even when they occur soon after the crime. In fact, according to the Innocence Project, eyewitness misidentification is the single greatest contributing factor to wrongful convictions, in which the innocence of the defendant is later proven by DNA testing.
Witness Misidentification a Serious Problem
Witnesses may initially make an identification, then even after realizing they may have made a mistake, they will continue to insist on identifying the wrong person. Other witnesses are hampered by the distance between them and the perpetrator of the crime, weather, or darkness. While all of these problems are inherent in any witness identification, if it has been decades since the crime occurred, the problems of witness misidentification multiply exponentially.
How a Criminal Defense Attorney Can Help
While the families of murder victims are absolutely entitled to closure, gained through learning the identity of the murderer, those being charged with the crime could potentially be absolutely innocent, yet find themselves unable to prove that innocence because of the amount of time which has passed.
If you find yourself in such a situation, it is imperative that you contact an experienced San Diego criminal defense attorney as soon as you are charged, or even if you think you might be charged with murder. Because the penalties for a murder conviction are, understandably, harsh, you need a knowledgeable attorney by your side from start to finish to ensure your rights and your future are protected.
Law Office of Vikas Bajaj, APC
