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Domestic Violence

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Submitted By JRHarrison16
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Pages 4
September 19, 2012
Judicial systems fall 2012
One of the primary reasons why victims do not testify is in court is embarrassment. Many victims are embarrassed to reveal any details from their cases. In domestic disturbance cases, victims often refuse to testify because they are still living with the defendant, or for whatever reason, they do not want the defendant imprisoned. In this paper, I will focus on domestic violence and why the victims choose not to testify.
Domestic violence cases tend to be sensitive issues because of the intimate nature of the confrontation. Typically in domestic violence cases, a husband is abusing a wife or a child, or a mother is abusing her children. In these situations, the only witnesses to the violence are the wives or children who are being abused. Sometimes wives of abusive husbands to do not want to testify because they worry their husbands will go to jail and the wives are financially dependent on their abusive husbands. In other cases, defendants may not want to testify because they are worried that they will reveal incriminating evidence about themselves. These cases usually involve illegal substances or alcohol abuse. Finally, some victims choose not to testify because they believe that the abuse will not happen again, or that the defendant has changed and will stop their abusive behavior ("Colorado Domestic Violence Lawyers").
Sometimes prosecutors will pursue charges even if the victims refuse to testify or recant their statements. This usually occurs when prosecutors decide that the victims are incapable of making the right decisions because of their willingness to stay in abusive relationships or their history of abusive relationships. Prosecutors may play the 911 recordings and call the police officers who responded to the calls, or have the officer retell what the victims told them when the defendants were

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