Character mistake: The Fifth Amendment Double Jeopardy Clause does not apply. Libby could be convicted of 1st Degree murder when she gets out and pursues Nick. It doesn't really matter to the plot, however, because it was what Libby believed to be true and motivated her. Further, she ends up shooting Nick in self-defense. So it's all good.
Double Jeopardy (1999)
1 character mistake
Directed by: Bruce Beresford
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Bruce Campbell, Bruce Greenwood, Ashley Judd
Plot hole: For a convicted murderer who violated her parole and assaulted her parole officer while escaping custody, Ashley Judd moves around the country and even boards airplanes with little to no problems.
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Suggested correction: She was simply careful. There's constant manhunts for much more serious felons and parolees on the lam who seem capable of moving around without getting caught.
How did she keep the gun if she flew across the country?
She could have checked the gun in her luggage. Most countries and airlines allow that.
But what about having to go through metal detectors and placing anything she's carrying with her through an X-ray machine? Either one of these would have caught her with an illegal weapon. Don't airports always check luggage to ensure nothing dangerous is being taken on board a plane?
In the United States, it is perfectly legal to carry an unloaded gun and ammunition in checked baggage. You are required to declare it and to store it in a locked, hard-sided container.
Question: Given she leaves the state while on parole, possessing a firearm, holding her ex at gunpoint, how does Libby avoid prosecution for these offenses?
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.