5 ms·

What a weird statment. How can a country decide to drop a crime against its citizen. Shouldn't the person who got raped be deciding that.

mikl 7y ago
In most European countries, the state prosecutor decides who to charge with a crime, regardless what purported victims think. It might be a bit foreign, but it does help with some cases, like partner violence, where the victim might not want to press charges against a violent partner. Under this model, if the police learns of the crime, they are obliged to prosecute it if possible.
- dominotw 7y ago
  > the state prosecutor decides who to charge with a crime, regardless what purported victims think. So state prosecutor can simply drop the charges if she feels like it? in usa people have the right to jury trial. Seems really unfair that prosecutor can unilaterally simply drop your case, wonder why its that way.
  - whamlastxmas 7y ago
    In the US, any alleged victims can sue in civil court, separate from any criminal charges
  - favorited 7y ago
    This is absolutely no different than in the US. A government prosecutor needs to press criminal charges. The accused has the right to a jury trial. An alleged victim has no such right.
    - mikl 7y ago
      Ok, maybe I’ve seen too many movies, but I had the impression that at least for some crimes (misdemeanors?) the victim can opt to not "press charges"?
      - favorited 7y ago
        Nope, though it is a common TV trope. In the US, there's a concept known as "prosecutorial discretion," and it refers to the fact that prosecutors have nearly absolute authority over what charges are brought. There are limits to this, but they are extremely rare. For example the Supreme Court has held repeatedly that a prosecutor can't base their decision on race or religion because it would violate the 5th Amendment.
        Gibbon1 7y ago
        Yeah they can decide for any reason except prohibited reasons.
      - SamReidHughes 7y ago
        There is such a thing as a private prosecution: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_prosecution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_prosecution
  - mikl 7y ago
    I don’t know all the details of the Swedish system, but governments over here are generally much more centralised than you’re used to from the U.S. Prosecutors are generally not independent, but work for some arm of the justice ministry and as government officials are subject to abuse of power laws, so they can be punished for mishandling cases. That’s the theory, at least. In practise, it’s not always that transparent what’s going on.
  - erikpukinskis 7y ago
    That’s not true, in the U.S., the DA has complete authority to decide whether to file charges. You have no right to a trial until after you are charged. You can file a civil suit to get a judge to make declarations of fact in some cases, but I don’t believe there is any criminal equivalent of that.
    - dominotw 7y ago
      yea. I was mistaken. thanks.
- erikpukinskis 7y ago
  Same is true in the U.S. as a victim you can decide whether to “press charges” i.e. file an official crime report. However it is only the District Attorney’s office that has the power to file criminal charges.
whamlastxmas 7y ago
The alleged victims never pressed for Assange to be charged for sexual assault.
- dominotw 7y ago
  > Assange was accused of rape by a woman and sexual assault by another one what does 'accused' mean here? I assumed accused = pressed charges. edit: oh i see wht you mean. thanks.
  - whamlastxmas 7y ago
    The women did not accuse him of rape. They described alleged sexual assault, wanted the police to contact him to ask him to take an STD test, and the police took it upon themselves to want Assange for questioning in regards to sexual assault.
    - dominotw 7y ago
      why would the article say otherwise though? it literally says they accused him.
      - pnw_hazor 7y ago
        If they accused him of performing actions that, if true, meet all the elements of the crime rape, they have accused him of rape.
      - whamlastxmas 7y ago
        To be more clear: the women did not approach the police with the intention of them pursuing any allegations about sexual assault. The accusation was made by police after hearing the context around the women's request. So while the women communicated circumstances that the police interpreted as sexual assault, it was not their direct accusation
        dominotw 7y ago

mikl 7y ago

In most European countries, the state prosecutor decides who to charge with a crime, regardless what purported victims think. It might be a bit foreign, but it does help with some cases, like partner violence, where the victim might not want to press charges against a violent partner. Under this model, if the police learns of the crime, they are obliged to prosecute it if possible.

dominotw 7y ago
> the state prosecutor decides who to charge with a crime, regardless what purported victims think. So state prosecutor can simply drop the charges if she feels like it? in usa people have the right to jury trial. Seems really unfair that prosecutor can unilaterally simply drop your case, wonder why its that way.
- whamlastxmas 7y ago
  In the US, any alleged victims can sue in civil court, separate from any criminal charges
- favorited 7y ago
  This is absolutely no different than in the US. A government prosecutor needs to press criminal charges. The accused has the right to a jury trial. An alleged victim has no such right.
  - mikl 7y ago
    Ok, maybe I’ve seen too many movies, but I had the impression that at least for some crimes (misdemeanors?) the victim can opt to not "press charges"?
    - favorited 7y ago
      Nope, though it is a common TV trope. In the US, there's a concept known as "prosecutorial discretion," and it refers to the fact that prosecutors have nearly absolute authority over what charges are brought. There are limits to this, but they are extremely rare. For example the Supreme Court has held repeatedly that a prosecutor can't base their decision on race or religion because it would violate the 5th Amendment.
      - Gibbon1 7y ago
        Yeah they can decide for any reason except prohibited reasons.
    - SamReidHughes 7y ago
      There is such a thing as a private prosecution: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_prosecution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_prosecution
- mikl 7y ago
  I don’t know all the details of the Swedish system, but governments over here are generally much more centralised than you’re used to from the U.S. Prosecutors are generally not independent, but work for some arm of the justice ministry and as government officials are subject to abuse of power laws, so they can be punished for mishandling cases. That’s the theory, at least. In practise, it’s not always that transparent what’s going on.
- erikpukinskis 7y ago
  That’s not true, in the U.S., the DA has complete authority to decide whether to file charges. You have no right to a trial until after you are charged. You can file a civil suit to get a judge to make declarations of fact in some cases, but I don’t believe there is any criminal equivalent of that.
  - dominotw 7y ago
    yea. I was mistaken. thanks.
erikpukinskis 7y ago
Same is true in the U.S. as a victim you can decide whether to “press charges” i.e. file an official crime report. However it is only the District Attorney’s office that has the power to file criminal charges.

whamlastxmas 7y ago

The alleged victims never pressed for Assange to be charged for sexual assault.

dominotw 7y ago
> Assange was accused of rape by a woman and sexual assault by another one what does 'accused' mean here? I assumed accused = pressed charges. edit: oh i see wht you mean. thanks.
- whamlastxmas 7y ago
  The women did not accuse him of rape. They described alleged sexual assault, wanted the police to contact him to ask him to take an STD test, and the police took it upon themselves to want Assange for questioning in regards to sexual assault.
  - dominotw 7y ago
    why would the article say otherwise though? it literally says they accused him.
    - pnw_hazor 7y ago
      If they accused him of performing actions that, if true, meet all the elements of the crime rape, they have accused him of rape.
    - whamlastxmas 7y ago
      To be more clear: the women did not approach the police with the intention of them pursuing any allegations about sexual assault. The accusation was made by police after hearing the context around the women's request. So while the women communicated circumstances that the police interpreted as sexual assault, it was not their direct accusation
      - dominotw 7y ago