2.1 The criminal justice system prosecutes people charged with violent crimes
You can’t turn on your TV without a 24-hour news cycle telling you that violent offenders get set free all the time. It’s intentionally scary and they report that nonsense because the news makes money by keeping you, the viewer, hooked to their channel. Human beings are inherently drawn to reports of violence and they play off that instinct.
The truth is, if you’re charged with a violent crime, even Assault in the Second Degree, one of the least serious violent crimes we will discuss in this book, you face the possibility of being held without bail until your trial. The reality is the criminal justice system is less of a system and more like a casino. There is no checklist, where if you check off every box you can guarantee that you won’t be prosecuted or convicted. Sometimes innocent people are convicted simply because they got the wrong prosecutor and the wrong judge or jury on the same day.
People accused of violent crimes go free at higher rates because a significant amount of violent crime is committed against other violent people.¹ Violent people cross paths, commit acts of violence against each other, and then refuse to participate in the prosecution of a case. In the end, statistically, violent crimes are dismissed at a higher rate because, in many cases, the prosecution requires the participation of witnesses, and those witnesses refuse to participate. There are even times when witnesses that are necessary to prosecute a case want the charges dismissed against the defendant so the defendant can be released into the community where it’s easier for the witnesses to carry out acts of retaliation and revenge.
The news reports statistics showing the rates of people charged with violent crimes getting released, without much, if any, exploration of the reasons for the dismissal of these cases. Based on this superficial reporting many people mistakenly think being charged with a violent crime is a walk in the park. Some people think “my case is a self-defense case, so obviously they will just dismiss it” while the court system treats them like they are going to prison for a long time.
¹ Reichert, Jessica MS and Mason, Maryann, PHD, Illinois Criminal Justice
Information Authority, June 10, 2023 “Victim Offender Overlap: Firearm Homicide Victims With And Without Criminal Records”, https://icjia.illinois.gov/researchhub/articles/victim-offender-overlap-firearm-homicide-victims-with-and-without-criminal-records/https://icjia.illinois.gov/researchhub/articles/victim-offender-overlap-firearm-homicide-victims-with-and-without-criminal-records/
See also National Institute of Justice, March 11, 2021, “The Overlap Between Those Committing Offenses Who Are Also Victims: One Class Of Crime Victim Rarely Seeks Or Receives Available Services”, https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/overlap-between-those-committing-offenses-who-also-are-victims-one-class-crime