History Main / WrongfulAccusationInsurance

* ''Film/{{Flodder}}'': In the third movie, the police show up to evict the Flodders from their home, bringing a riot team just in case, but the Flodders recruit all of their criminal friends and an entire karate school to fight back. The massive brawl is resolved when it turns out that the house will be auctioned next week and the Flodders do not have to leave at once since Sjakie is going to put in a bid on their behalf. Fair enough, but the cops don't even bother with any of the people who just assaulted two dozen police officers.

->''"In the course of proving Optimus innocent of breaking and entering, the criminal acts you commit include: resisting arrest, interfering with a crime scene, removing evidence from a crime scene, assaulting a police officer, destruction of police equipment, unauthorized access of a police computer system, vandalism, industrial espionage, breaking and entering. What lesson have we learned today, children?"''

* The protagonist and girlfriend in TheSixties' monster mash ''Film/AttackOfTheEyeCreatures'' were framed for a murder committed by the "creatures". Our heroes break out of jail and steal a police car. The girlfriend's influential father "takes care of everything" by having these charges dismissed.
* In the early '90s [[TheFilmOfTheSeries film remake]] of ''Film/TheFugitive'' with Creator/HarrisonFord, Dr. Kimble commits multiple burglaries (a clinic, a hospital, an apartment), thefts, auto theft (ambulance to be specific), unauthorized use of medical records, accessory after the fact in the murder of a transit cop (disposing of the gun, even though he didn't shoot the officer), and more in the course of proving that he didn't murder his wife. This is to say nothing of his original escape from custody, which is illegal whether or not you are innocent of the crime you are accused or convicted of (running away to avoid being hit by debris from a derailing train is justified, but continuing to run instead of turning himself in...). Notably, however, the film ends with him in the custody of the US Marshals who were pursuing him throughout the movie, and while he's cleared himself of the original murder, there's no indication that all the other stuff is just going to be let slide. This said, the rather shady circumstances around his original arrest and conviction (including a fairly hefty, albeit never directly confirmed, whiff of corruption on part of the authorities) heavily suggest that he's unlikely to face too hefty a punishment; the point is simply that he's not simply let go after everything.

* The trope may be played straight sometimes with two conditions: when TheHero's unlawful actions are comparatively minor and when the evidence he or she leaves behind is too flimsy for the authorities to build a case against him or her. However, too many people tend to take the trope at face value and seek their justice in a manner a bit ''too'' rough [[DontTryThisAtHome to get free out of jail]].

* In many Website/GoAnimate [[YouAreGrounded "Grounded"]] videos, a person will get locked away in prison for inane reasons, such as littering, and upon realizing who put them there, they casually break out and punish the guilty party. They're never sent back for their escape.

* {{Subverted|Trope}} for [[PlayedForLaughs laughs]] in ''Film/DungeonsAndDragonsHonorAmongThieves''. During the ColdOpen, Edgin — having served two years in prison with his partner Holga — pleas his case for a pardon before a group of judges (sans one particular judge who's running late), [[HowWeGotHere explaining his backstory that led up to the two winding up where they are]] before giving a sincere apology and offering to right his wrongs. Just as the judges stamp their ruling, the final judge arrives and the duo immediately kick of their ''actual'' plan to escape out a window, much to the befuddled bewilderment of the judges who just ''approved'' their pardon. The two successfully escape, but this stunt immediately results in another warrant for their arrest.

* Played with in ''Series/{{Castle}}''; at one point, Castle is framed for murder by an old enemy who informs him that he's arranged for Castle to be murdered as soon as he arrives at Central Processing. Castle proceeds to arrange for his escape from custody, at which point he and Beckett work together to prove that he was framed. Once the proof is discovered, Captain Gates points out that Castle will still need to surrender himself to the District Attorney and will face charges for escaping police custody, but notes that the unusual circumstances mean that he'll most likely only receive a slap-on-the-wrist fine and the time he's already served as punishment.

In detective stories and thrillers, sometimes a framed man fights to [[ClearMyName prove his innocence]]--usually of murder--and in doing so commits a series of crimes, yet [[GetOutOfJailFreeCard does not pay for them]] at the end. Crimes that are often committed in the pursuit of the proof of innocence include resisting arrest, assaulting a police officer, grand theft auto, breaking and entering, reckless endangerment, assault, fraud, and [[DeathbyIrony Irony shooting bad guys]]. The immunity to consequences for those acts is a specific form of HeroInsurance, perhaps granted because they are perceived as acting under compulsion, like a twisted version of a BoxedCrook. In many cases, the transgressions they commit are also comparatively minor (property damage against the bad guy, petty or returnable in same condition theft, perhaps an assault that doesn't result in lasting injury) when compared to the crime they have been wrongly accused of, and even killing can be justified story-wise by self-defense and [[AssholeVictim Asshole Victims]], thus allowing the audience to overlook them and maintain sympathy with the character; when the crime ''isn't'', however, then good luck keeping them on the hero's side.

Note that WouldNotShootAGoodGuy is generally in play; most such characters do not actually murder people who honestly believe them to be crooks. All that said, there are many cases where the hero will actually commit things just as bad or worse than whatever they were originally accused of (a hero killing a lot of people [[Irony after being falsely accused of murder]] is perhaps the most obvious example) and at this trope's worst it can turn into a rather absurd form of ProtagonistCenteredMorality.

In detective stories and thrillers, sometimes a framed man fights to [[ClearMyName prove his innocence]]--usually of murder--and in doing so commits a series of crimes, yet [[GetOutOfJailFreeCard does not pay for them]] at the end. Crimes that are often committed in the pursuit of the proof of innocence include resisting arrest, assaulting a police officer, grand theft auto, breaking and entering, reckless endangerment, assault, fraud, and [[Irony shooting bad guys]]. The immunity to consequences for those acts is a specific form of HeroInsurance, perhaps granted because they are perceived as acting under compulsion, like a twisted version of a BoxedCrook. In many cases, the transgressions they commit are also comparatively minor (property damage against the bad guy, petty or returnable in same condition theft, perhaps an assault that doesn't result in lasting injury) when compared to the crime they have been wrongly accused of, and even killing can be justified story-wise by self-defense and [[AssholeVictim Asshole Victims]], thus allowing the audience to overlook them and maintain sympathy with the character; when the crime ''isn't'', however, then good luck keeping them on the hero's side.

In detective stories and thrillers, sometimes a framed man fights to [[ClearMyName prove his innocence]]--usually of murder--and in doing so commits a series of smaller crimes, yet [[GetOutOfJailFreeCard does not pay for them]] at the end. Crimes that are often committed in the pursuit of the proof of innocence include resisting arrest, assaulting a police officer, grand theft auto, breaking and entering, reckless endangerment, assault and fraud. The immunity to consequences for those acts is a specific form of HeroInsurance, perhaps granted because they are perceived as acting under compulsion, like a twisted version of a BoxedCrook. In many cases, the transgressions they commit are also comparatively minor (property damage against the bad guy, petty or returnable in same condition theft, perhaps an assault that doesn't result in lasting injury) when compared to the crime they have been wrongly accused of, thus allowing the audience to overlook them and maintain sympathy with the character; when the crime ''isn't'', however, then good luck keeping them on the hero's side.

Note that WouldNotShootAGoodGuy is generally in play; most such characters do not actually murder people who honestly believe them to be crooks.

* Subverted in ''Fanfic/TheAwakeningOfAMagus''. After Fudge announces Sirius' innocence in public, he attempts to bring up the matter of Sirius escaping Azkaban... until Arthur reminds him that he announced Sirius would be free of '''all''' charges up to date. In front of reporters. Commonly played straight in every ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' fanfic that uses this plot, actually. Probably justified by the fact that he was locked up in ''very'' irregular circumstances, to the point where any criminal investigation would be focused on the people who locked him up in the first place. In other fics, he's officially declared guilty of the relatively smaller crimes but, since the time he previously spent in Azkaban is more than the combined sentence one can get for them, he officially already served it. And in an even smaller group, he's asked to perform community service for a time until the government feels he's paid his debt to society.

* Subverted in ''Manga/OutlawStar''. What's the first thing Gene does upon his return to Sentinel? Jail time. Turns out that [[spoiler: meeting [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien robot God]]]] doesn't excuse you from overdue parking tickets or leaving the planet without clearance. Even if intergalactic pirates are to blame, that just knocks it down from a criminal charge to an exorbitantly high fine. Fred paid that though, so it's alright (or, considering how much Gene already owes Fred, maybe not).

* At the end of ''Film/TheManhunt'', Ethan Wayne's character is apparently free to go after proving he actually owned the horses he was accused of stealing, despite having twice escaped from prison, threatened the lives of Robeson and his men, been an accomplice to the attempted murder of a police officer, and caused massive property damage during the {{Car Chase}}s as the authorities attempted to recapture him.

* Pretty much the same happens in the first ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'' game, though in this case Max getting away unpunished is explicitly due to him having an influential friend ([[spoiler:Senator Alfred Woden]]). Also, he doesn't think he ''deserved'' to get off and is therefore even more of a psychological mess in the sequel.
** It helps that those he killed were criminals and gangsters, many of whom shot at him first, and he's [=DEA=]. It might get ridiculous how far you can stretch self-defense or some other case for him here, even though it's justified.

* Played with in ''Series/{{Renegade}}''; a lot of the wrongfully accused people Sixkiller Ent. helped seemed to get off scot-free, but there was the one time Reno helped a fugitive since the 70s prove [[spoiler:that the person he "killed" never died in the first place, which surprises even him. He thought he did kill his friend, but ''accidentally'', not the murder he was charged with.]] He's sentenced to community service for evading justice, which, from what we see, means singing to kids. He doesn't seem to mind. We never get to see what would happen to Reno himself if his name were cleared, unfortunately.

In reality, this isn't the case. Even if you're innocent, escaping from custody is still a crime and will net you an additional charge. One of the few times you can get away with escaping custody is if you can demonstrate you're in reasonable fear for your life if you remain in custody (more risk than is normal for being in custody) and return to custody when that danger has passed.

* Averted in ''Series/OnceUponATime''. Mary Margaret has been framed for killing Katherine and is in holding. When someone slips her a key, she uses it to escape. Emma tracks her down and convinces her to return, pointing out that while they may be able to prove her innocence in Katherine's death if anyone else learns that she escaped she will be guilty of that, and no-one will be able to help her. It's eventually revealed that Regina slipped her the key, for that very reason.

* In ''Film/AMurderOfCrows'', [[spoiler: Lawson Russell murders Corvus in cold blood after he discovers Corvus was the killer and had framed him for previous murders. The film ends with Russell being cleared of all murder charges, including the murder of Corvus, even though he did commit that one.]]

* Defense Attorneys are a non-violent and non-criminal variation of this trope. Lawyers can collect evidence to prove a person's innocence without the defendant having to do it themselves while on the run from the law.
* Played straight with a little known and less used concept in American law called "Jury Nullification" where a jury may decide that either the circumstances surrounding the crime require the jury to ignore the law or in cases where the government's actions are so egregious that a jury simply refuses to convict. Related to this is the much more rare "outrageous government conduct" defense, in which the defendant seeks outright dismissal of charges because the actions of the police and/or prosecutors are so far beyond acceptable that it denies fundamental fairness. The requirements for this defense are so high that only three successful uses of it were documented in an 18-month period.
** Important note: if you are ever selected for jury duty, '''do not''' let them know that you know what jury nullification is, as they'll assume you plan to use it and can't be trusted to be an impartial juror/give a conviction.