By Jeff Kennedy
Witness statements are often cornerstones of the prosecution’s case, so it’s probably safe to say that a person’s statements are important in the criminal court system. Setting so much store by one witness’s statements can be dangerous, however, because sometimes, people lie.
Why would someone lie about whether or not you committed a crime? There are many reasons:
- To get themselves out of trouble
- Out of malice, jealousy, or personal gain
- Because they are intimidated or bullied into providing false evidence against you
Yes, people do provide false information to the police, and they do sometimes accuse others of crimes that never happened or accuse the wrong person of a crime they didn’t commit. So what can you do if you’ve been falsely accused of a crime? Fight back!
Examples of False Accusations
Let’s look at an example of a false accusation.
A husband and wife are separating, and the husband knows that his wife has a better chance of getting custody over the kids. He is terrified of losing time with his children, so he decides to make false accusations that she has harmed the kids. Maybe he even goes so far as to call the police and make a statement about her (fabricated) violent behavior.
After speaking with the kids and others, the police believe his statements to be false. Maybe the husband later admits to providing false information. He can be prosecuted for the crime of filing a false police report, a Class B misdemeanor, under Texas statutes.
How Can a False Accusation Harm You?
Being falsely accused of a crime can shatter your life. Depending on your situation, it could destroy your job, your family life, your reputation, and your mental health.
Here’s an example of how a false accusation could change everything for you:
Say you work as a principal at a middle school. You and a friend had a falling out because you got the promotion and he didn’t. Your friend can’t get over it and decides to make a claim that you assaulted one of the students. The school is required by policy to investigate any accusations of wrongful behavior, and things get out of hand.
The local news station picks up the story, and everyone in the entire town hears about your alleged assault on a student. Even though evidence later vindicates you, you still lose your job, your friends won’t talk to you, and even your spouse is looking at you differently.
False accusations have a way of doing almost as much damage as ones that are actually true. So what can you do about being falsely accused of a crime? Unfortunately, the only real thing you can do is to hire an attorney to protect your rights and keep you from being convicted of a crime you didn’t commit.
Get in Touch with a Criminal Defense Attorney
Don’t let a false accusation ruin the rest of your life. Protect your future and your reputation by working with a criminal defense attorney with The Law Offices of Jeff C. Kennedy. Call 817-605-1010 or fill out the communication form on this webpage.
