KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In explaining his decision not to file a hate crime charge against the 84-year-old man accused of shooting Ralph Yarl, Clay County Prosecutor Zachary Thompson said Monday he did not want to risk double jeopardy.
The explanation raised questions among observers this week, with some questioning how double jeopardy, the legal principle that a person should not be prosecuted twice for the same crime, would prevent a hate crime charge.
After all, Missouri’s hate crime statute is intended to be added to an underlying crime such as a racially motivated shooting.
