When a Newfoundland judge was about to sentence the skipper of a fishing boat for trying to throw his wife overboard, he suddenly found himself in a tricky legal position. The skipper’s wife — the victim of the crime that had just been proved beyond a reasonable doubt — came forward to say it never happened, that she made it all up because she was angry. This was a problem, raising fears of a miscarriage of justice, and the judge’s ultimate solution is a rare illustration of the law on victims who recant criminal accusations. When he briefly re-opened the...