Families of Prisoners Support Group
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Me being a witness to what happened, they won’t let me speak to my partner. They’ve tried to get me to prosecute him but I won’t and now they won’t let me know where he has been inprisoned and they won’t let either of us contact each other. I’m absolutely beside myself. He’s my best friend and we live together. I just need someone to talk to. It’s been a week and I’ve not heard anything.
I don’t know enough about your situation or your guy’s case to comment, but I will try to clarify some things for you.
You said, “Me being a witness to what happened, they won’t let me speak to my partner.”
Who is “they”? Is he in jail or incarcerated somewhere? Has he been charged with a crime?? Have you been charged with any crime?
Are you the victim, the complaining witness??
If he is not incarcerated, there is nothing that prevents a witness talking or contacting a defendant in a criminal matter. BUT, there is a catch. If your guy has been arrested and is the subject of a criminal investigation, talking to him could open him up to an accusation against him of witness tampering. You don’t want the prosecution to accuse him of pressuring you to change your testimony.
If he has been arrested, at arraignment the judge may have ordered the defendant to have no contact with the victim. In fact, they usually do order that.
Is this a domestic violence case??
You said, “They’ve tried to get me to prosecute him but I won’t and now they won’t let me know where he has been inprisoned and they won’t let either of us contact each other.”
YOU cannot prosecute anyone. The only person who can prosecute another person is a DA or prosecutor; they determine if charges are filed.
Sometimes regular people think that they can prosecute someone. No, they cannot. They can file a complaint regarding what happened, but the prosecutor makes the final determination if charges are filed.
In a similar situation, often seen in domestic violence situations, a woman will call the police if her man is abusing her. The police file a report, the report goes to the DA, and the DA decides to file charges against the man. But then the woman and man get back together and she decides she does not want to go through with prosecuting her guy. By that time, the state has picked up the case and the woman has no say in the matter.
You said, “They’ve tried to get me to prosecute him but I won’t and now they won’t let me know where he has been inprisoned and they won’t let either of us contact each other.”
If he has only been arrested and not convicted of a crime, he is either in the city lockup, the county jail, or a detention center somewhere. The institution or facility where he is being held can keep you from seeing him, if he is in custody.
If this situation goes to trial or court, you will most likely be called as a witness. If you refuse, they will issue a subpoena, which means you will have to show up for court. If you refuse to show up at the time designated in the subpoena, they will file a contempt of court citation against you. Once you are in court, it is up to you if you want to cooperate with the prosecution.
Did you ever give a statement to the police or law enforcement regarding this incident? If so, they can use the statement against your guy to convict him.
Since I do not know the particulars of the case, this is about all I can say with assurance.
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