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  1. #1

    Default Re: When is It Legal to Lock Up an Innocent Person for Protective Custody

    Quote Quoting aardvarc
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    Yes. there are circumstances where a person may be placed in protective custody - both adults and juveniles. When that happens, no, they do not go in a prison cell. Prison is for persons convicted of serious crimes. Where they would be housed (kept) depends on the person's age, gender, reason for the protective custody, how long the need for protection is anticipated to last, and available resources in the area. An infants and small children might be placed in temporary foster care or into a local social services program. An adult might be kept in a hotel room, or if for some short amount of time (such as a trial about to occur) could be placed in a local jail; again, the details of WHY protective custody is needed, matter. Suffice to say that yes, a court can order that a person be placed into protective custody.
    Let's say someone is being threatened by a stalker, and the stalker is in hiding and cant be found. Will the person being stalked be put in a local jail? whether the stalker is a stranger and the victim a grownup, or the stalkers are abusive parents who abandoned the minor and disappeared, but might come after him regerdless?


    And when an innocent person is put in a local jail a some short amount of time, is he locked in a cell or allowed to walk around the buiding and fenced yard freely, while the prisoners are locked up?

  2. #2
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    Default Re: When is It Legal to Lock Up an Innocent Person for Protective Custody

    Quote Quoting superior feline
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    Let's say someone is being threatened by a stalker, and the stalker is in hiding and cant be found. Will the person being stalked be put in a local jail? whether the stalker is a stranger and the victim a grownup, or the stalkers are abusive parents who abandoned the minor and disappeared, but might come after him regerdless?
    No, the victim will not be put into jail. The victim MIGHT be allowed into some form of program that offers them protection, but, jail? No. And any assistance they did receive would be at the victim's request, not against their will.

    And when an innocent person is put in a local jail a some short amount of time, is he locked in a cell or allowed to walk around the buiding and fenced yard freely, while the prisoners are locked up?
    An "innocent" person is not put into a local jail. He or she is put into a local jail when there is probable cause to believe they have committed a crime, not that they are a VICTIM of a crime.

    As was previously stated, adults and children can be placed into some form of protective custody under certain circumstances, but, that is their choice unless the victim is a child or a dependent adult and they need protection from an abuser ... in which case they are placed NOT into a jail, but into some other safe location.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: When is It Legal to Lock Up an Innocent Person for Protective Custody

    A person who can give evidence or testimony about the subject matter of a criminal case, with that evidence being sufficiently important to potentially change the outcome of the case, can potentially be detained as a "material witness" if there is sufficient cause to believe that the witness won't appear at trial as ordered by the court. That's a different issue than "protective custody".

  4. #4

    Default Re: When is It Legal to Lock Up an Innocent Person for Protective Custody

    Quote Quoting Mr. Knowitall
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    A person who can give evidence or testimony about the subject matter of a criminal case, with that evidence being sufficiently important to potentially change the outcome of the case, can potentially be detained as a "material witness" if there is sufficient cause to believe that the witness won't appear at trial as ordered by the court. That's a different issue than "protective custody".
    Sufficient cause to believe the witness won't appear in court means the person he's testifying against is dangerous, and therefore maybe the witness will be afraid, although the witness never said or done anything that indicates he might not appear in court, or

    The witness says he won't show up, or acted in a way that indicates he won't show up.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: When is It Legal to Lock Up an Innocent Person for Protective Custody

    Quote Quoting superior feline
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    Sufficient cause to believe the witness won't appear in court means the person he's testifying against is dangerous, and therefore maybe the witness will be afraid, although the witness never said or done anything that indicates he might not appear in court, or

    The witness says he won't show up, or acted in a way that indicates he won't show up.
    The witness may simply not want to testify against the person, they may not be afraid of them.

    Material witness warrants are very, very rare - I have only heard of one in my more than two decades on the job.

    Perhaps you'd care to discuss the specifics of your case and the state you are in? The details matter, and the state also matters as laws vary by state.

  6. #6

    Default Re: When is It Legal to Lock Up an Innocent Person for Protective Custody

    Quote Quoting superior feline
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    Let's say someone is being threatened by a stalker, and the stalker is in hiding and cant be found. Will the person being stalked be put in a local jail?
    No. The victim of the stalking should be receiving information from both their local law enforcement agency and their local domestic violence program about safety planning, and working to keep themselves safe, as well as to document the stalking activity so that law enforcement has evidence with which to bring a criminal case against the stalker.


    whether the stalker is a stranger and the victim a grownup, or the stalkers are abusive parents who abandoned the minor and disappeared, but might come after him regerdless?
    Parents that have not had their parental rights (and responsiblities) terminated or modified by a court cannot "stalk" their children. They have the RIGHT to their children, including the right to attempt to locate them, monitor them, etc.....until a court says otherwise. Parents are allowed great leeway within the law to prevent their children from becoming runaways and in bringing them back if they do run away. The law even allows criminal charges to be brought against persons who AID a minor in attempting to flee parental authority (again, unless the rights of the parents have been modified by the courts).

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