Vigil,

Many people share that view.

As there cannot be a prosecution without a defendant, while there are many without a victim, it seems more appropriate to me that the focus of a criminal prosecution should be on the defendant rather than the victim.

The prosecution of the individual by the state is not for the benefit of the victim. Rather, it is because the defendant is alleged to have fallen so far from the accepted norms of society that the state feels obligated to bring sanctions, through its policing function, of one form or another upon the defendant, thus predisposing him or her to change their wayward behavior.

In a court of law, the results of a successful prosecution, be they fines, imprisonment, or other intrusions into the defendant’s life, have rather more impact upon the accused than comments made by the hoi poloi. As a result, I remain prejudiced towards the defendant, who, until convicted, retains all the rights and privileges of any other citizen of good standing.

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Eudaimonia