So? People are often handcuffed BEFORE being exonerated and then freed. Being handcuffed is not equivalent to a life sentence.
She's handcuffed because she was arrested on the Enterprise and brought down to confess. They likely didn't prosecute because she ratted out the entire conspiracy gang to the Federation President, in exchange for a lighter (or no) sentence. That's how plea deals work! Get the lower people to flip so you can bag the bigger players. Still, one would expect double-homicide to not warrant a blanket pardon...
This is why the scene is bad because we the audience has to fill in the gaps because it wasn't clear. But I'm fine with that but Discofan, and others has the right to dispute it.
It applies to the people who saved civilization, the ones who are making the statement. It's not ambiguous enough to be applied to anyone else but them.
The movie suggests the 2 factions are willing to have an open mind about punishment to keep the peace talks, maybe all was put under the bridge because "People can be frightened of change."?
Although I just posted it, this explanation is still problematic. She didn't voluntarily give up the information. In fact, she did the exact opposite with her middle-finger "I do not remember" line. Spock had to forcibly extract it from her. So they knew all the higher-ups already, and Valeris had nothing left to bargain with after that point. Ergo, no plea deal.
Valeris being mind-probed --please don't think rape, guys, please-- would be like a polygraph, it still would fall under he said she said and by her not talking and making that statement alone, she would walk. Forcing information against her will is not Starfleet IMO, maybe Nick Meyer's clunky vision but not what I think of it. Look, this stuff was not well thought out and it has a lot of problems. EDIT: Let me state this for the record, I believe or at least safe to assume Valeris was punished for what she did. I mean, who else could it have been in this assassination mystery??? She was kinda one of the lead architect for these crimes.
One would assume a Vulcan mind meld holds more weight in court than a polygraph, though. It's not a he said, she said, but rather a "being-who-never-lies-and-read-her-mind said, she said". You can cheat your way through a polygraph, but I'm sure a mind meld is much more difficult to skirt. In Discovery, it was good enough for Admiral Cornwell to be sure the crew weren't their MU counterparts.
Wow, the producers start the series with a Mirror Universe gimmick... in the first season??? Showrunners who have a thought of engaging an audience to a new world would actually open it with what's cool and different from what we had ever seen before or at least not from what was seen. Later, a good showrunner would sprinkle in some of the gimmicks to water the tastes of viewers but these idiots' season is all about the gimmicks. Sorry for the thread drift.
I always assumed the "not going to prosecute" line referred to Our Heroes, not Valeris, and was an indirect reference to TVH. Never assumed that Valeris was going to be set free, especially given the last time we see her she's in manacles.
I for one NEVER assumed that the line referred to our heroes. I thought it was obvious that once Azetbur said the line: "You've restored my father's faith." that there was nothing to prosecute (concerning Kirk and his crew) but quite the contrary a lot to praise. And that's why I never understood that line to apply to our heroes. To me, it was about Valeris and the rest of the conspirators. Kirk et al. saved the President, shot the hitman, restored the peace process and arrested the conspirators, what would they be prosecuted for? It makes no sense.
All charges against the crew were dropped at the end of TVH, and the only penalty handed down was Kirk's demotion to Captain.
Completely agree. The line refers to the Enterprise crew's disobeying orders...not to the conspirators. The conspirators are screwed. The Enterprise senior staff is off the hook.