ABSTRACT
In dealing with homicide, the criminal justice system has two tasks. It must identify, convict, and punish the guilty. In doing so, it must operate within legally prescribed rules. This chapter examines prosecutorial “misfires” in which a prosecution does not result in a conviction or the rights of the accused were violated to render a conviction invalid. The special nature of no-body homicide cases increases the risk of both kinds of misfires. In some cases, failure to convict was the factually correct decision. In other cases, the absence of a body contributes to a factually guilty person evading ultimate punishment.
