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New Insights on the Process of Victim Recantation  


Author:  Amy E.  Bonomi.;  David  Martin.; Rashmi  Gangamma.; Jeff  Grabmeier.


Source: Volume 18, Number 04, April/May 2013 , pp.49-51(3)




Domestic Violence Report

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Abstract: 

Prosecutors and advocates have known for years that witness tampering is a significant problem in domestic violence cases, and that victims recant and/or refuse to testify in a considerable number of cases. For domestic violence cases that reach the court system, as many as 80% may involve victims who recant their story and/or refuse to testify. 1 As the Supreme Court recognized in Davis v. Washington , 547 U.S. 813, 833 (2006), “[t]his particular type of crime is notoriously susceptible to intimidation or coercion of the victim to ensure she does not testify at trial.” Researchers attribute victim recantation and refusal to testify to many factors. This article discusses the subject and provides a figure schematizing the process.

Keywords: conceptualization of recantation; DV Victim Recantation: A Five-Step Process (A Chart)

Affiliations:  1: Ohio State University; 2: King County Prosecutor’s Office; 3: Syracuse University; 4: Ohio State University.

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