Alleged kidnapper and rapist Robert Abner has decided not to take the stand and testify in his trial. His decision, his silence speaks loudly.
As a close friend once was fond of saying “no answer is still an answer.”
Abner’s silence, whether the defense and legal experts want to admit it or not, is damming. He doesn’t have to indict himself legally but the psychology behind it is clear — there is nothing he can say that wouldn’t either help convict him or be defined as perjury.
Victim Joyce Patterson has had her character questioned by the defense, had those same attorneys question her statements to police, and heard the insulting, insensitive and cruel assertion that the the sex was consensual.
Most rape victims hear such idiocy and many see that approach help offenders escape accountability and punishment.
Hopefully Patterson won’t be victimized again, this time by the courts, who are often abusers themselves. If she is, it will also be another victimization for women, children, and our society.
