Obstruction of justice

Obstruction of justice: [def]

Fifteen months and twelve days ago I was drugged and brutally raped by a stranger. It began on a Sunday afternoon in a quiet café and ended in unfamiliar surrounding smelling of cat urine, unfamiliar man sweat and my own blood. Upon recovery, I left without bathing, did not bathe for untold hours, and went directly to the authorities, where I explained as best I could the circumstances of the violation of my self which had transpired.

I have given the detective my attacker’s name, license plate number and address. I have described his physical characteristics and submitted to over twelve hours of data collection, which included not only the culling of my most intimate bodily parts but also the probing of my intimate personal history. What stands on record is considered by the Commonwealth to be not only sufficient but compelling evidence for a warrant in a case of rape. I am not a victim; I am a material witness. If I chose to withhold my knowledge of this crime, i would be found in contempt of court. How is it that withholding my evidence from the scrutiny of prosecution is not equally criminal? Is it possible to hold one's goevernment in contempt?

There exists between the state and the citizen a contract: I will submit to the governing laws of the land and their procedures and they will in turn prosecute offenders with all due good conscience and in a timely manner; such is the whole basis for statutes of limitation. In return for this contract, I wave my medieval recourse to vendetta. If the government breaks its contract with the governed, what recourse but vendetta do we have to ensure we remain protected and served?