Sigh... the murder mystery quest is so infuriatingly stupid.

Well, to be fair, you are still part of Ambassador Udina's delegation and thus protected by diplomatic immunity to some extent.

But was I the only one who actually LIKED how unconsciously fascist and disturbing Citadel Space was?

I even liked how the second game revealed it was the ASARI'S influence that makes it that way.

The problem with is argument is that the original MEs didn't thrust their legal system or lack thereof into the forefront by making it the focus of a side-story with what is supposed to be a morality/ethics-based decision at the end.

1. Well, the fact that Shepard is acting as part of the Alliance and as part of Udina's entourage. Americans commit crimes all the time and Ambassador's sort it out all the time even without them being a highly ranked Navy Seal-equivalent. China, for example, has a strong policy against allowing the extradition of their citizens and arrest. This is real life stuff and that doesn't involve the fact Shepard is made a Specter hours later.

2. Okay, the only person who actually looks like an idiot in that situation is Ashley/Kaiden. Shepard's first action after meeting the Illusive Man is to go visit Udina and talk with Admiral Anderson/Councilman Anderson. The whole idea of Shepard working for a terrorist organization is a joke since he has pretty much the permission of the highest authority in the Alliance from the beginning.

Also, all of his activities in Omega are stated to be outside the authority of the Council and thus none of their concern. Ashley and Kaiden look specifically like idiots since it's not like there's any reason to hide the fact Shepard is operating under Alliance permission. It's not like RL isn't full of CIA agents working with local terrorists/revolutionaries/partisans against other threats.

3. We should also remember that the ME universe has a lot of slums and hellholes with little in the way of law. Chora's Den is in the "bad part of town" to begin with, let alone Omega and the rest of the Terminus.

So that is what happens to him if you exile him.  If you let him go. later on he is asking to be put back in stasis, that his wife left him after finding out all the details and no one trusts him.  I give him the ole buck and fly right, ME1 anyone, speech and I haven't seen him since.

Edit added:

Oppps that was meant for Fogg sorry.

1. Actually, we're talking standards and customs of the world here and they DO ignore all of his crimes.

2. And? Just because it's a crime doesn't mean he gets caught.

That's exactly what Shepard convinces Bailey to do with Kolyat once Thane's loyalty quest is completed in ME2.  There is no choice available to send Kolyat to prison.

Kolyat pulls the gun on Talid, but never pulls the trigger.  Shepard either disarms him or kills Talid him/herself before that can happen.

Ugh.. well so far I'm enjoying most of the writing in the game.. from an entertainment perspective anyway... but good god the murder mystery of the station was written by a brain damaged infant who has no concept of law or justice in even the most barbaric of societies.

So the Turian tried to commit murder... and failed (kett murdered the victim, turian's shot missed.. but he still fired and tried to kill his victim).. the fact his shot missed is 100% irrelevant in the eyes of any juvenile criminal justice system on earth today... trying to murder someone is still a crime, one does not need to succeed to be guilty or convicted. In most societies it is called "attempted murder" and carries a significant punishment, depending on the nation. 

So here we have a Turian in which we have irrefutable evidence in which he attempted to commit murder and then the game posits to present us with 2 options:  1) Exile him (freedom essentially, just not among the AI)  or 2) Dismiss all charges and release him, no crime committed.

Honestly this is some of the laziest and dumbest writing I have seen in some time... we're expecting to believe that these highly advanced societies (human, turian, salarian, asari etc) traveled into deep space without a judicial system in place? That is the most implausible thing I've heard.. and that's saying something in a universe that has space magic (biotics). This should not even be an option open to Ryder -- Tann should simply have handed the case over immediately to the court system (which this society absolutely must have, even if it is rudimentary), where the individual would be charged with attempted murder. Considering the evidence, the turian would likely be found guilty and sentenced to some form of punishment (that's up to the court... exile, execution, prison, whatever).

The fact it is left up to Ryder to act as judge jury and executioner in a criminal matter is beyond idiotic... or at the least leaving only 2 options is insufferable (exile or freedom... good god talk about lazy writing.. either way he ends up off the hook for attempted murder).

This quest should just have been deleted from the game, it is embarrassing how poorly it is written and has detracted a bit from an otherwise enjoyable experience.

hey that trial on Manaan in KOTOR was one of the cooler Bioware quests...