If someone does a crime but there was no law against it at that time, do they get caught if a law is set up for it in the future?

Question

So for exemple if someone got on with a minor at the past, or if someone was openly racist in the 50s, would they be jailed now if they were alive, or do laws apply to the time you commited the crime?

In: Other

Answer 1

The common law rule is that you cannot be convicted of retroactive law. This means that what you did in the past is not punishable by new law. This law is also enforces explicitly in various constitutions. This is in Article I, Section 9 of the US Constitution and s.11(g) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom. Not all countries and courts necessarily follow this principle. Famously, there is some argument that the Nuremberg Trials basically enforced retroactive law on the Nazis.