Serious Stalking, Research Paper Example

I have been working for a prosecutor’s office for some time now. I have handled all kinds of cases but I was surprised that many of those cases involved stalking. According to a Wikipedia definition, “Stalking is a term commonly used to refer unwanted, obsessive attentionby an individual or group to another human being. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation, and may include following the victim in person and/or monitoring them via the internet. The word stalking is used, with some differing meanings, in psychology and psychiatry and also in some legal jurisdictions as a term for a criminal offense” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalking)

I have never made a big deal out of stalking cases until now. It came to my attention that a stalking victim ended up dead. My heart went out to this victim and I have decided to tell her story. This stalking case happened in the state of NJ.

The intake I am about to relate describes a situation of a young woman who lived in NJ. Her name was Elizabeth R, aged 32. Elizabeth was a part time model. Despite her age, she looked very young. She was a fairly attractive woman and was making a small income from modeling. Elizabeth had many admirers whom she did not like very much. She also had a boyfriend with whom she had a great relationship. She told her numerous admirers that she was not interested in any of them. However, there was one admirer who just would not take a “No” for the answer. His name was Robert S. Sadly, Sadly, Robert’s obsession with Elizabeth ended tragically for her. Robert has one day murdered her by stabbing her with a knife.

Robert was a man whose unhealthy obsession with Elizabeth led him to act very strangely. When he first met Elizabeth he managed to afterwards follow her home. She was not aware that he was doing that. Later on, she was surprised to find him near her apartment complex many times. After a few times, she started getting nervous and told him to stop. However, when she went to the police station, the police officers did not take her seriously. They told her that she could not put a restraining order against Robert because her case did not have enough evidence that Robert was stalking her. They claimed that just because she ran into him a couple of times did not mean that he was stalking her and that she misrepresented his behavior. Unfortunately, Elizabeth was not able to protect herself against Robert and one day he caught her in a dark alley near her house asking her to marry him. When she refused, he stabbed her with a knife.

In the state of New Jersey, it is not that easy for a woman to prove that she is a victim of stalking. The police do not want to file a case for stalking unless there is enough evidence to back it up. In addition, it is very difficult for a victim to come up with the desired evidence. The judge would not just take her word for it. In the state of New Jersey, stalking is a crime in the 4^th degree. A crime in the 4^th degree is the least serious of all crimes. It is considered a misdemeanor. Unfortunately, the criminal justice system does not take stalking very seriously. In addition, it is very difficult to prove for a woman that what the stalker is doing is a crime. In the state of New Jersey, there is no civil stalking statue. It is very difficult to prove that the stalker’s behavior fits specifically within the crime criteria. A civil stalking statue would entitle a woman to monetary compensation to alleviate her disturbed state of mind and it is also a good compliment to criminal prosecution.

In Elizabeth’s case, there was not much that she could have done. The criminal justice system did not do its job to protect her from harm. She really tried to get help. Sadly, her quest to find peace has ended in despair. The criminal justice system has failed to do its job for her. She was all alone in this. Nobody was able to help her. Once again, as it often happened, another innocent life was lost due to the failure of the criminal justice system.