[ANIMAL2222]

My husband and I had a fight he hit me in the mouth I needed 3 stitches while at clinic getting treated they called police I explained I will not press charges on my husband. Police filed complaint w/states attorney office. They will not drop the charges even though I requested. I don't want my husband being sent to prison for this. What can I do?

[AK lawyer]

You could fail to voluntarily appear at the trial as a witness. Depending on which state or country you are in, domestic violence may be an exception to spousal privilege not to testify. Ask your husband's attorney (He definitely should have one defending him in this).

If you are subpoenaed to testify (and spousal privilege doesn't apply), you will have to tell the truth, or you could face charges.

Also, they may be able to make a case against him without your testimony. It depends.

I don't want my husband being sent to prison for this.

Would you rather yourself be brought to the hospital or undertaker next time? Consider carefully.

[Fr_Chuck]

The issue is, that in America, a crime, such as spouse abuse is considered a crime against the state, not a crime against you.
Women who are abused, keep going back and back and back, and get more abuse, and more abuse. This costs the local government money in police time, often if low income family, cost money in welfare medical costs.

So many locations have a requirement that if and when the police are called, if there is any sign of abuse at all, the police officer must make an arrest. If he fails to do so, and there is more abuse later that night, the officer could have some liability for failure to make an arrest.

You could leave him, since no women should have to accept abuse.
Also, unless he has prior crimes on his record, he will not go to prison, but be put on probation, maybe have to do drug or alcohol counseling, do anger management, I would recommend counseling for you, to understand what happens in an abusive relationship.

If you do not appear to testify, it will depend on the court. Any statements you made, may be allowed to be read into record. They will have the medical report to use as evidence. And the police officer can testify to what he heard everyone say.
They do make and get convictions without the witness often. If the officer doing the report, did it correctly, and your states rules of evidence alllow it does not matter.

Of course if you fail to show up, you could get charged with contempt. I always thought that funny, the wife, goes to jail for contempt, and the husband got his case dismissed.

[AK lawyer]

.

.. If you do not appear to testify, it will depend on the court. Any statements you made, may be allowed to be read into record. ... And the police officer can testify to what he heard everyone say. ...

How is that not considered inadmissible hearsay? What the defendant said would be considered an admission against interest, but not what the wife said. If, however, she said something like "he hit me" moments after the incident, it could possibly be admissible as an "excited utterance".

If she gets on the stand and recants her previous (otherwise inadmissible) statements, they could be used to impeach her in-court testimony, but such impeachment couldn't be used to prove the husband committed the crime (Impeachment would be useful to explain a contradiction between her testimony and other evidence, such as an admission by the husband, forensic evidence, etc.). The previous statements could, however, be used against her, should she be prosecuted for perjury.