By May 2008, all defendants convicted in the attack had escaped from prison or been freed by Yemeni officials.

The murder was committed after the defendant had escaped from a state, county, or municipal penal or correctional facility and before recapture.

Justice Alito appealed to the criminal law concept of willful blindness, which holds that defendants cannot escape liability by "deliberately shielding themselves" from relevant facts.

The defendant cannot escape liability for negligence.

Burnett requested a change of venue for the court proceedings, and during transportation to the next venue, the defendants escaped.

But the defendants were not escaping "scot-free."

But if the plea can be supported by a finding of guilt alone, a defendant might escape punishment altogether.

If this defence had been successful, the defendants would have escaped the death penalty to face either life imprisonment, or up to 10 years in jail.

The defendant may escape liability if there is an alternative cause for the defect, or the damage could have been avoided by intermediate examination.

The defendant can escape liability if he proves that the only act or default which caused the breach was that of the plaintiff.