An idea came to mind when reviewing the Joiner Sibling's Homicide Case.

Why don't the same rules of family violence laws cover stalking? After the 2007 arrest of the now convicted murderer for stalking, the charges were later dropped by the victims.

It is my understanding that in issues of family violence,( i.e. scumbag wife beater gets arrested for smacking his wife around). The victim has no say in whether the charges are to be dropped.

Perhaps some letters need to be written to our state representatives. We need to ask them to extend the family violence rules into stalking charges as well.

Any ideas on the best way to go about this?

Is it really a common occurance that victims of stalkers are inclined to drop charges? I had an issue with a guy several years ago and because he hadn't [yet] broken any law, LEO's seemed unable to do anything, despite the creepyness of his actions and scaring me half to death. If I could have gotten some charges against him, I surely wouldn't have dropped them.

Yes, stalking victims often drop their charges so that they don't make the stalker mad and hope to avoid escalation of actions. I don't have any solid figures on it, just experience.

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It is my understanding that in issues of family violence,( i.e. scumbag wife beater gets arrested for smacking his wife around). The victim has no say in whether the charges are to be dropped.

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My understanding is just the opposite. Who knows?

Victims do not drop charges...prosecutors do. In many cases (not all) the victim is the only credible witness of the events. If the victim will not participate/testify, then the prosecutor may not have much of a case or any case at all. If there are other credible witnesses, then having a victim that chooses not to participate may not impede the process and the prosecutor has a case they can move forward with.

+1 Lone Stranger