What happens if one body of a Siamese Twin commits a crime?

Scenario: You are a judge in criminal court and against the other twins will, one of them has committed a crime. He is charged guilty of the crime. What do you do with them. Only one of the twins is guilty, but the other is innocent and you don't know what to do. What do you do?

Do you try to surgically separate them knowing that the surgery may kill them from complications? Do you punish both of them, punishing the innocent one also? Do you let them both free, letting the guilty one escape justice also? Do you charge the innocent twin as an accessory to the crime (I'm not sure what happens if one twin tries to resist the movements of another)? Do you attach a cell that fits around one of them while allowing the other to be free, but with a box trailing behind him? Do you keep one half in a cell and while the other is not free to move, he is still treated well (CatDog style for all those who have seen that episode)?
Additional Details
Has there ever actually been a case like this?

Elana

This actually is just a special case of the "unwilling accomplice" legal dilema - with the added hook that it is difficult to punish one without punishing the other.

If you are unwilling to commit a crime but are forced to do so either through physical force or by threat, then you are not considered culpable for the crime. As a matter of law, the non-guilty twin is indeed not guilty.

Assuming that separation of the twins was not possible, the judge would have to either forgo punishment entirely or devise a punishment that is only punishment to the twin undergoing it - and still fall outside of "cruel and unusual".

I don't think such a punishment exists - anything you do to one will have an effect on the other.

Since American law often clings to the "Better 10 guilty men go free than 1 innocent man be held", I think the judge would end up forgoing punishment.

As to the realities of Siamese Twins, who controls what varies from case to case. Yes, there are some where it takes complete willing cooperation to walk, and there are others where one completely dominates all physical action - and every combination in-between.

solarianus

Well, if it happened in the US, and the Constitution was followed, they would have to go free.

Questions

Well in other countries siamese twins would most likely both be punished, though it is possible for the one twin to do community service and the other doesn't. I don't think there was ever such a case, because siamese twins are so rare and most likely have never done such a thing or even thought about it.

Biancaaa â™¥ =]

very, very odd question. i have ABSOLUTELY no idea. STAR FOR U!

Chuckie O

The other twin could probably be charged as an accomplice. It would take at least the cooperation of the "innocent" twin.

If such a case ever happened, I don't know about it. They would probably just let them go free.

Erica

Ethics question, eh? :)

There has never been a case like this - I would imagine it would cause a nation-wide ethics debate...Imagine the Terry Schiavo debate times a thousand!
It would most likely end up at the Supreme court, and probably cause a new addendum to constitutional law.

sisterpoet

This sounds like a case that could be held up in the court system for years. If I were the innocent twin, I would appeal, appeal, appeal.

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