Star Trek VI: Valeris gets away with murder?

[Ultimate Champi]

Re-watching Star Trek VI recently I noticed something that really bothered me. At the end of the film Dr. McCoy says that they are not going to prosecute. Uhura says "They might as well have prosecuted me. I felt like Lieutenant Valeris."

Valeris killed two crewman, was going to kill Spock possibly in Sick Bay and conspired to kill the Klingon Chancellor and his successor. I am sorry but what the hell? How can she get off for murder and conspiracy? Am I missing something here?

As a side note, in the final draft script when Saavik was still the turncoat, they make it clear that she was arrested.

UHURA They might as well arrest me, too; I felt like Lieutenant Saavik.

SPOCK (pointed) But you didn't join a conspiracy.

BONES (half for Spock) They don't arrest people for having feelings.

CHEKOV If they did we'd all have to turn ourselves in. How CAN we rely on them?

 

[omnirad]

Star Fleet was not going to prosecute Kirk, Spock and the rest of the old Enterprise crew. Valeris, Cartwright, and the other conspirators ARE getting the smack down.

 

[Commishsleer]

I think McCoy was referring to himself and Kirk not to Valeris.

 

[Stoo]

I think you're misinterpreting? Mccoy is referring to the crew themselves, not Valeris. They entered klingon space, spirited Kirk and Mccoy away, then rushed to a conference they shouldn't even have known the location of. Those would be grounds for prosecution, but they're being let off since they saved the peace process.

[edit]ninja'd

 

[Melakon]

What the folks above said. After that bridge meld interrogation, nobody on the bridge was worried about Valeris.

 

[Timo]

Indeed, Uhura's words make it clear that she and Valeris are in different categories as far as prosecution is concerned (even though the comm officer thinks her own sentiments would not warrant this)... It would be pretty difficult to read from this that Valeris does not get prosecuted.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Peach Wookiee]

Yeah, Valeris got arrested.

 

[Timo]

On the other hand, she did seem willing to give a full confession and whatnot (at least after a bit of roughing up), which may count towards leniency. Had she stayed mum, it doesn't appear as if anybody would have any real evidence of, well, anything much.

One assassin is dead, his connection to either the Klingons or his Starfleet colleagues unestablished and his attempt to distance himself from both evident from his use of a disguise... Two other assassins are dead as well, the related computer logs apparently all wiped. General Chang has been blown to smithereens, in a ship whose very existence would no doubt be denied by most. And even after Valeris implicated Ambassador Nanclus, it sounds quite unlikely either the Feds or the Klingons could do anything to prosecute him!

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Peach Wookiee]

^No one's questioning the possibility of a plea bargain. But she still was arrested.

 

[Ultimate Champi]

Thanks for the input, I can see McCoy referring to them but it was a little unclear; it was clearer in the shooting script. I was just wondering if that was changed to give a "happier" ending.

 

[Maurice]

You're forgetting the key line that frames the whole scene. When they walk in Kirk says:

KIRK
Once again, we've saved civilization
as we know it.

BONES
And the good news is they're not
going to prosecute.

UHURA
They might as well have arrested me;
I felt like Lieutenant Saavik.​

WE. US. ME. This is all in reference to them. The dialog was smartly re-ordered.

 

[MacLeod]

I'd echo what the others have said, the lack of prosecution referred to the Enterprise crew and the Excelsior crew

Lets See

Violation of Klingon Space
Disobeying Orders
Lying to Command (i.e. Location of Enterprise unknown, reporting non existant issues with warp drive)

 

[marksound]

KIRK
Once again, we've saved civilization
as we know it.

BONES
And the good news is they're not
going to prosecute.

McCoy could have been pointing out the fact that they had to face charges at the end of ST4 after saving Earth (for disobeying orders, stealing the E, and going to Genesis to retrieve Spock's body). The charges were dismissed, but still ...

 

[Silvercrest]

I'd echo what the others have said, the lack of prosecution referred to the Enterprise crew and the Excelsior crew

Lets See

Violation of Klingon Space
Disobeying Orders
Lying to Command (i.e. Location of Enterprise unknown, reporting non existant issues with warp drive)

Possession and consumption of Romulan ale.

 

[Timo]

I think they got rid of all the evidence, though.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Greg Cox]

If you're interested, there's a good novel, Cast No Shadow by James Swallow, that deals with what happened to Valeris afterwards. And, yes, they locked her up and threw away the key.

Until . . . .

 

[R. Star]

What the folks above said. After that bridge meld interrogation, nobody on the bridge was worried about Valeris.

Victims of mind rape are surprisingly docile afterward.

 

[Ssosmcin]

Guys, Bones was making a funny. It's supposed to be a wiseass sarcastic answer, not a serious comment about being let off the hook for anything. It's pretty much understood they saved the galaxy and nobody's gonna punish them for anything they did on the way to winning.

De Kelley delivered it as he would a punchline. "We saved civilization (again) and we got away with it." Sarcasm. His follow up line was also said by Kelley as a joke:

McCOY (looking at Spock)
Well, they don't arrest people for having feelings.

When he said the "prosecute" line, people in the audience laughed. Not much, it ain't that funny, but it's in keeping with Star Trek 6's "give Bones a wisecrack every 5 minutes" scripting. Honestly, I think you guys are looking too deeply into it.

 

[T'Girl]

Victims of mind rape are surprisingly docile afterward.

After her trial and conviction, being mindraped by Spock might be considered a form of "time served" and Valeris just walks out free.

 

[Grant]

Really?