[HeatherColorado]

that was five years ago.

Saturday night, he punched me and broke my cheekbone!

Neighbors heard me screaming, and officers broke down the door.

This is his fourth DV related assault arrest...yes, I was quite stupid to stay through the second and third, but sociopaths can be so convincing in their fabricated remorse!

*****I want to make SURE he is convicted of his two current charges--Felony Class 2 Assault, and Felony False Imprisonment (after he punched me, he refused to let me leave and go to the hospital) and, when convicted, receives the maximum sentences!

Yes, I know it's the DA's job, but their caseload is huge, and they seem amenable to my input.

My questions:

1. I looked up the Colorado Statute for Class 2 Assault, and it seems to emphasize "serious bodily injury." The CAT scan revealed my left cheekbone is broken, and will require surgery to repair. My eye and jaw also are in pain. Would it be beneficial to the prosecution for me to consult physicians for these peripheral injuries, or will the cheekbone be considered "serious" enough? I ask because I don't have health insurance, but can rebudget if it might help our case. Might the defense counsel attempt to minimize the fact that my cheek is visibly caved in and a bone is broken, or is it legally consistent with the definition of a "serious" injury?

2. After the assault, he refused to let me leave our home to seek medical treatment. Rather than risk further enraging this drug-addled lunatic, I laid quietly on the couch for an indefinite time, waiting for him to leave the room so I could escape! During this time, he sat and wrote the lyrics to a song(!) which included such memorable phrases as... "Who's at the door? F*ckin whore! Such a loser on the floor!" Might this "document" be submitted as evidence for the prosecution to establish ....I don't know, anything!

3. After conviction comes sentencing, of course! He was on probation for assault #3 when this incident occurred, and has admitted no guilt--he claims I ran into a wall! He fits 8 of the 10 adult diagnostic criteria in the DSM for Antisocial Personality Disorder. Might the prosecution request a psychiatric evaluation to diagnose this condition and show he is incapable of rehabilitation and is a danger to society? If so, might his sister's birth certificate be admitted as evidence? They have the same mother (she gave the daughter up for adoption, but the whole family reunited three years before the daughter and the perp knowingly and willingly entered a common-law marriage, four years before she gave birth to a son/nephew, and five years before he assaulted her and got a class 3 assault conviction!) and, besides the violation of the incest taboo (and uncharged felony!) I'm hoping it will show his flagrant disregard for the societal rules we are all expected to abide by!

Would the fact that she was a former DV assault victim of his allow this to be relevant, and thus admissible as evidence?


My fear is that his sociopathic charm and charisma might get him off, once again, and out preying upon us!

Any advice or suggestions are MOST welcome!!!

Thanks in advance!

Heather aka buxomandbrainy@hotmail.com

[aaron]

The prosecutor presumably is already prepared to make the case that your broken cheek constitutes a serious bodily injury, and it seems unlikely that a jury would conclude otherwise. You can cooperate with the prosecutor's office, in relation to releasing your medical records to them.

The lyrics? It might be difficult to get them in; however, if he denies that he detained you, they might (for example) be offered as evidence that he detained you at least long enough to write them. And they do tend to suggest indifference to your condition. The prosecutor would have to weigh the odds of getting them into evidence, and may well decide to focus on the other aspects of the case.

The prosecutor is unlikely to try to get a full psychiatric evalaution of the defendant as part of the sentencing. That type of evaluation doesn't normally happen for offenses of this type, unless the court is petitioned to have the defendant evaluated for competence to stand trial, or whether he was legally "insane" at the time of the offense such that he can't be held criminally responsible. It doesn't sound like either applies to your case. Inflammatory information about his past family situations is not likely to be offered or admitted into evidence; it is prejudicial, but does not seem at all probative of guilt or relevant to the defendant's appropriate sentence.

The prosecutor's office may have a victim's rights officer who can provide you with more specific information.