Don’t want to get involved.
Exactly. One of the reasons why is because there is a long-standing tradition of witnesses being murdered when they testify or agree to testify.
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Welcome to Stuff You Should Know from HowStuffWorks.com.
Male Speaker
You’ve heard the rumors before. Perhaps some whispers written between the lines of the textbooks. Conspiracies, paranormal events! All those things that disappear from the official explanations. Tune in and learn more of the stuff they don’t want you to know from HowStuffWorks.com.
Josh Clark
Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I’m Josh Clark. That there is Charles W. Chuck Bryant!
Chuck Bryant
That there.
Josh Clark
That there. Down the road a piece, etc.
Chuck Bryant
Yes. I am down the road a piece.
Josh Clark
I’m sure you are, Chuck.
Chuck Bryant
I wish.
Josh Clark
Have you ever committed a crime, Charles?
Chuck Bryant
I’ve never been caught or convicted of committing a crime, Josh.
Josh Clark
But you have.
Chuck Bryant
I have never been convicted of a crime.
Josh Clark
Nice, Chuck. Chuck is big on CYA.
Chuck Bryant
Everyone has made a right on red when they shouldn’t have. Sure, yeah, I’ve committed a crime.
Josh Clark
Everyone who listens to this podcast knows that I started out early as a thief and stopped shortly afterward. Remember the firecrackers in the Pac Man shirt?
Chuck Bryant
Ah, yeah, sure. Shoplifter!
Josh Clark
Yes. If you commit a crime, you’ve got your own thing going on. Right?
Chuck Bryant
Sure.
Josh Clark
But what happens if you witness a crime? You’re just some innocent person, and you see somebody shoot somebody else in the head, and blood comes spurting out in like a big arc, and the eyes go glazed, and you’re just standing there watching this, and you get a good look at the person who did it. What do you do?
Chuck Bryant
You get the heck out of there, you call the cops.
Josh Clark
Yeah, that’s a good first step.
Chuck Bryant
And what may end up happening, and I think this is where you’re going is you may end up a witness that has to go to court and testify against this bad person.
Josh Clark
Here’s the thing. Part of our constitution – actually, I don’t know if it’s in the constitution, but let’s say a general protection that any individual has is protection against being coerced into testifying against somebody. It’s an individual’s right to choose whether or not you want to testify. And a lot of people choose not to.
Chuck Bryant
Yeah, very much.
Josh Clark
It’s a big problem, actually. There’s a lot of people who do witness crimes who just say, “I’m not doing it.”