Would you go to jail to possibly save your life?

[chazus]

Rhetorical situation.

You've been implicated in a criminal case, effectively unwitting accomplice to say... A murder. Several murders. You are facing 25+ to Life in jail, unless you give up the name(s) of the people whom actually did the crime. If you give up the names, the court will be lenient, likely allowing probation after a year or so.

However, the people who did the crime are dangerous people. People you have no reason to believe the system can protect you from. Brotherhood, Yakuza, D-Company, 14K, Cosa Nostra, whatever. You're fairly certain (based off other people, likely dead) that even under witness protection, and other services provided by the government, you'll be a dead person within a year of getting out a jail. Possibly even before that.

Worse, they may be vindictive enough to make you suffer first, and target your family and friends. They are not on a time restraint. You are. Not only that, but if you don't give up the names, there may be more deaths. You don't know, as their business is not your business.

Given the nature of organized crime, and their ties to particular nations, please keep the discussion clean, and avoid any ethnic flaming. This is about your decisions, not the groups.

So what'll it be? 25-Life, or being hunted down like a dog?

EDIT: These people are not your friends, allies, or comrades. You are being blamed, essentially. You owe them nothing, nor they you. You got caught up in something that got out of control quickly. Example: What was supposed to be a silly internet credit card fraud scheme for 10K ended up in multiple murder/homicide.

EDIT2: Moving elsewhere or attempting to get a new identity will likely not help. You know them well enough to know that others have done the same, and ended up six feet under.

EDIT3: Whatever group you have gotten mixed up with, they know things. They know if you've kept quiet or not, and if you don't give up the names, you can safely assume that you and anyone else involved with you are safe. This is purely a "Jail or Death" scenario.

[Korrawi]

depends, if said organized crime group rewarded me well for my illegal shit, and didn't make me any problems, I'm loyal. If I'm a criminal, I'm not turning in my criminal friends. I can rot in jail for all I care, I knew the risks and I got caught, jail time for me.
If however my partners in crime are dicks and fucked me over, I'll turn them in np.

[Howard Moon]

Depends how easily I can pack up my family and move to the other side of the world with new identities.

[Deleted]

"I refuse to testify on the grounds that my organs will be chopped up and made into a patty."
"Aaah, the 67th Amendment."

[chazus]

They are not partners, nor friends, nor are you getting a reward. Basically you're a patsy. You didn't realize what you were involved in until you were neck deep and then some. You owe them nothing, and they owe you nothing.

If however my partners in crime are dicks and fucked me over, I'll turn them in np.

You'd give up their names no problem, knowing that they (or others they know) will likely kill you, and soon, as far as you know?

Depends how easily I can pack up my family and move to the other side of the world with new identities.

Knowing them, new identities won't help. These are worldwide syndicate level groups, with likely more funding and desire to make sure you keep quiet than any true government does.

[Deleted]

I'd do the time to protect my family and friends. Besides snitches become bitches in the big house.

[Letmesleep]

I personally think loss of autonomy is worse than death, so yes, I'd turn them in. Being alive is only as good as the quality of life one has - living for the sake of being alive has no value to me. If I really feared they'd hurt my family, I'd just kill myself and hopefully they wouldn't feel the need. Either way some really bad people would be put away so that automatically saves some lives. A lot of the consequences of this hypothetical situation are unknowable, so it's hard to plan for everything. All I know is prison is worse than death for me.

Edit: I forgot that a year of prison time was guaranteed in this scenario, followed by the witness protection program. Sounds like the rest of my life would be pretty crappy. A mouthful of buckshot sounds better than any of this.

[chazus]

A lot of the consequences of this hypothetical situation are unknowable, so it's hard to plan for everything.

That's part of the catch. You don't KNOW, 100%, if or when they'd find you. You're pretty certain, but not guaranteed. That fear of that is a serious thing. Even in witness protection, in the back of your head, you'd be on the run. On the other hand, even if you sit in jail, you don't know what they'll do next, and you'll likely have to live with knowing some people got offed due to your poor decision making.

[De Lupe]

Either way, you die. May as well take some scumbags out with you in the process.

But, seriously though, give in to thugs like that and it gives them more power. Would rather die standing against them, then live in their shadow.

[Evil Inside]

Either way, you die. May as well take some scumbags out with you in the process.

But, seriously though, give in to thugs like that and it gives them more power. Would rather die standing against them, then live in their shadow.

I was thinking the same thing, people like that probably have contacts and/or a large network inside various jails, therefore you die either way.

[Yunru]

Very easy. I would ask a judge too give me a fake execution. If they think you are dead they wont go after your family members. Names would be out after your *death*.

[KOMO1211]

1st of all unless you were directly involved with the murders and did it via premeditation then you most likely would never be implicated in the murders. this would be seen as coercion or something along those line or ignorance as in you had no knowledge of the events you are implicated in soo to say the least this hypothetical is full of holes and devoid of logic. however to play along. i would drop the dime, and send the first enforcer they send after me back to them in pieces. every person or gang in power has enemies. my enemies enemies is my friend.

[Janaa]

If you're going to be dead on witness protection, you'll be dead in jail. They've already got lifers in there who have no problem bumping off a "troublemaker". Go for the witness protection - it's the safest bet.

[Letmesleep]

Even in witness protection, in the back of your head, you'd be on the run. On the other hand, even if you sit in jail, you don't know what they'll do next, and you'll likely have to live with knowing some people got offed due to your poor decision making.

Both scenarios seem to be the end of my life. Living in fear in the WPP would be horrible. Quite frankly I know what it's like to lose one's sense of security, and it's horrible. That kind of fear would never go away and it would significantly diminish the quality of your life. In prison, things wouldn't be much better. You could get raped or beaten, you wouldn't have any freedom, and should you ever start to have chronic physical pain there's very little you could do about it. You'd just be trapped in misery. Even once you got out, the mafia could still kill you if they wanted to. You're not even really guaranteed safety by being silent. I'd probably just turn the perpetrators in then off myself. They'll just keep killing people if left untouched, so the sacrifice would at least mean something.

[semaphore]

I'm pretty confident of witness protection's ability to save my life so no.

[Deleted]

and how exactly did I turn into an "unwitting accomplice"? I try my very best to never break the law. and a credit card fraud scheme turning into a multiple homicide? how does that work?

[Deleted]

I dont usually do this, as I try to take "problems" such as these at face value, but:

"You've been implicated in a criminal case, effectively unwitting accomplice to say... A murder. Several murders"

how? I'm unwittingly been an accomplice to several murders? really? Stuggling to see how that is possible.


But I'd testify. I do not fear my own death, and I believe people have to stand up for the values we believe in, even if that means personal consequences. to do otherwise is to condone the actions that took place.

[jahasafrat]

I'd take the 25-to-life and try to get in the good graces of the shadowy organization that I took the fall for. If they're powerful enough to reach out and touch someone in witness protection, then they're powerful enough to get me out of prison.

[shadowmouse]

You were the guy who set up the meeting where they were killed. You thought you had a good deal -- an anonymous donor was going to pay you a nice chunk of cash to get the potential heirs of an eccentric millionaire together for a secret "test" to see which one would get the fortune. No, that isn't your usual line of work, they explained that they'd picked you randomly off of the internet and you'd passed several secret tests yourself. The offer was so good and seemed so unlikely to cause any trouble that you accepted. Only later did you discover that the phone conversations and e-mails had been phrased in double speak that was explained as part of the need for anonymity, but after the deaths it sounded as if you were making coded references to the murder. You were set up. They knew that one or more of the victims had already been targeted for government surveillance. The government suspects that you were set up, but they're willing to sweat you to get any information you might have, and just to use you as a stalking horse.

Or ... this girl/guy/Dr. Frankenfurter bought you a drink at the bar, you remember getting really drunk, they kissed you and you don't remember anything else about the next 72 hours. The government, however, showed you some interesting video and crime scene photos.

Or ... its an X File. You also have vague memories of being "probed" by aliens.

[yurano]

US WITSEC has a perfect track record so I'd go with that.

No Witness Security Program participant, who followed security guidelines, has been harmed while under the active protection of the U.S. Marshals.

Most people who go into US WITSEC have been involved with pretty bad people.

To be honest, a organization powerful enough to reach into WITSEC isn't going to risk loose ends.