Fifty-two years ago this week, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state’s last resort for all criminal cases, reversed Ruby’s murder conviction and death sentence and ordered a new trial because of the trial judge’s egregious legal errors. Because Ruby died before he could be retried, in the eyes of the law, he will always be an innocent man.
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Under the law, a defendant who dies while an appeal is pending is considered innocent. It happened to Ken Lay, CEO of Enron, and his wife kept ownership of all their assets.
It is a curiosity that, after the most infamous murders of the 20th century, recorded on film and seen by millions, no one was ever convicted of any crime…so far.