Results: Forced to Testify
Published on 07/23/2016
According to an article printed on July, 22nd in The New York Times, a woman in Texas was jailed for 27 days after she experienced a mental breakdown on the stand while giving testimony against a man who had beaten, choked and raped her two years earlier. She was put in a mental hospital for 10 days. Because she had made comments to the effect that she was unwilling to try testifying again, so the judge ordered her taken into custody and placed in the county jail until she testified in a second trial. She is now suing seeking punitive damages against several of the officials involved.
QUESTIONS
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Comments
1.
1.
Have you heard of this story before this survey? Yes
8%
142 votes
No
92%
1647 votes
2.
2.
DA Devon Henderson is quoted, "If nothing was done to prevent the victim from leaving Harris County in the middle of trial, a serial rapist would have gone free, and her life would have been at risk while homeless on the street" Do you think her explanation is reasonable? Yes
32%
577 votes
No
24%
436 votes
Undecided
43%
776 votes
3.
3.
In general, do you believe that people should face the threat of jail time to coerce them into testifying at criminal trials, when they were the victim of the crime and otherwise not suspected of being guilty of any wrongdoing? Yes, if you know something, you have an obligation to testify.
26%
460 votes
No, people should have a right to refuse testimony for any reason whatsoever.
42%
759 votes
N.A
29%
514 votes
Other (please specify)
3%
56 votes
| Other Answers | Percentage | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 0.56% | 10 | |
| Undecided | 0.34% | 6 |
| not sure | 0.22% | 4 |
| depends on the situation | 0.11% | 2 |
| don't know | 0.11% | 2 |
| If it means to further damage the victims mental health, I think it should be granted as incapacitated and be able to provide testimony in another manner. | 0.06% | 1 |
| Sh/be made comfortable enough to testify | 0.06% | 1 |
| You have an obligation but sometimes other obligations for first | 0.06% | 1 |
| if people are not under a supoena then they should have a right to refuse testimony. Anybody who made her go th bulliesrough that again are | 0.06% | 1 |
| SHE'D ALREADY SWORN IN. AND IF SHE REFUSED THAT IS LIKE PERJURY. SO SINCE SHE HAD A BREAKDOWN, I THINK THE COURT SHOULD HAVE TAKEN HER STATEMENT IN CLOSURE. MEANING GIVING THE STATEMENT OUT OF COURT. UNDER CLOSURE. THEN GIVEN HER PROTECTION, | 0.06% | 1 |
| i'm not certain | 0.06% | 1 |
| Only if they can convict without there testimony | 0.06% | 1 |
| Depends upon the situation | 0.06% | 1 |
| could she have testified by recording I did this when my neighbors husband murdered her and I was next | 0.06% | 1 |
| If anxiety is so prevalent , as I thi case, couldn't there be a compromise, Ned let her video /tape her statement? | 0.06% | 1 |
| There should be allowances to refuse testimony, but with limitations. | 0.06% | 1 |
| I believe if you're a victim you should have the right not to testify | 0.06% | 1 |
| Not familiar with this case, but apparently this homeless woman may have been jailed for her own protection. | 0.06% | 1 |
| They should be given a better place than jail as the jail is not a safe place for a victum | 0.06% | 1 |
| not when they are traumatized and unable to proceed | 0.06% | 1 |
| can see this one from both sides.. no easy answers | 0.06% | 1 |
| Other testimony arrangements need to be devised that can also protect the victim. | 0.06% | 1 |
| they should be able to testify in an empty courtroom except for the jury, judge, lawyers and law enforcement | 0.06% | 1 |
| Not the victim themselves | 0.06% | 1 |
| People should be allowed to decline testimony in a matter so personal and traumatic to them. | 0.06% | 1 |
| it may have to be up to each human to decide..each case is different, and I don't know how to decide. | 0.06% | 1 |
| depends | 0.06% | 1 |
| Obviously, our legal and court system does not work. | 0.06% | 1 |
| Only in certain circumstances. | 0.06% | 1 |
| They should not face jail time but in this situation there is obvious mental pressure. She should have been cared for not put in jail. | 0.06% | 1 |
| no, not if it is damaging to their mental wellbeing. | 0.06% | 1 |
| unsure | 0.06% | 1 |
| it depends on the individual and the case | 0.06% | 1 |
| if one is so traumatized maybe they could have the interview by video conference so the victim feels safe | 0.06% | 1 |
| it depends on the case | 0.06% | 1 |
| I think it depends on if their life or loved ones life is also threatened by if they testify or not. Sometimes testifying isn't always going to win the case, and sometimes it creates more problems. | 0.06% | 1 |
| They could video taped her testimony so she would not had to face him | 0.06% | 1 |
COMMENTS