Virginia Tech family members and friends are uniting this Friday, April 20th to declare an “Orange and Maroon Effect” day to honor those killed on Monday. Please wear orange and maroon on Friday to support the Hokie Nation.
Gamecock colors are garnet and black, and garnet is fairly close to maroon, so that part will be easy here in South Carolina. In ordinary circumstances I wouldn’t go near orange, however, as that is the color of in-state rival Clemson, which lacks a law school among other deficiencies. But on Friday, maroon and orange it will be.
–Ann Bartow
The police say it and the media repeats it, but it doesn’t make sense to me. The women who were being stalked didn’t press charges.
I have always thought it to be the prosecutor who charged a crime. Is it that it is different in different states?
Is this code for we explained what a hassle it would be in a he said she said situation for the woman if she wanted to make a fuss and she decided not to make a fuss?
The media reports it in exactly the same words every time. She refused to press charges. There is something odd about this.
I agree. It’s like the women who did not press harassment charges are now somehow to blame. Of course, when women do assertively address stalking issues they get the abuse that was dished on Kathy Sierra.
The police generally decide whether to make an arrest and a prosecutor decides whether to prosecute, but a person reporting a crime usually does get some discretion. I don’t know anything about the specifics of this situation, but police officers will sometimes give the accuser a range of options. However, if they believe a situation is dangerous, they will try to persuade a victim to press forward aggressively.