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False Accusations and Self-Inflicted Injuries

By Ron Chapman

The Fall 2007 edition of the Florida Defender, a publication of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, contains an article entitled "False Allegations of Sexual Assault:  Why Do People Lie?"  In that article, the authors make the insightful observation that "[c]ases of self-inflicted injury are particularly insidious because, except in suicide attempts, law enforcement officers are not accustomed to the phenomenon, and tend to presume the injuries are caused by others.  More important, persuading jurors that an apparent victim is capable of such bizarre behavior is difficult."A few years ago, I represented a man whose wife claimed that he had attacked her with a box cutter outside the courthouse...continue to full post

Full post as published by Palm Beach Criminal Defense Blog on March 31, 2008 (boomark / email).