Revealing mistake: When Ashley Judd slams Tommy Lee Jones' car and tips it over, she drives off and skids dramatically to a stop. Just before she skids, you can see several skid marks on the ground from practice or previous takes.
Revealing mistake: The movie is set in the USA, however, when the US Coast Guard boat ends the search for the husband's body and returns to the dock, Ashley sits on a gray bin with the words "City of Langley" on the side. Those shots were filmed in Langley, British Columbia, Canada.
Revealing mistake: When Nick Parsons /Jonathan Devereaux knocks Libby out, if you look carefully before he puts her in the casket you can see he's holding a dummy/doll from the wide angle. (01:23:53)
Revealing mistake: When Libby goes to the house to kill her husband with the gun she checks the bullets. You can see the firing pin is drilled out, rendering the gun inoperable.
Answer: Because there were exceptional and extenuating circumstances and, technically, Libby was never guilty of the crime she was convicted of and had to resort to extreme measures to prove her innocence. She may have had a gun, but it could never be proved that she held Nick at gunpoint, only that she shot him in self defense. Also, it's a movie, which often are unrealistic regarding details like that.
raywest ★