GANGS RULE CHICAGO, KILL AT WILL, LAW-ABIDERS HIDE IN FEAR
Whether they fear gangs that intimidate witnesses or simply comply with a street culture that despises a rat, those who witness a homicide or learn something about it rarely come forward willingly. Though certainly not the only factor, a lack of witnesses has contributed to the police's failure to solve more than half of last year's murders.
The fact that lips tighten after a homicide also creates an environment in which people kill with little fear of getting caught, authorities say, another reason Chicago led the nation in murders last year.
"What happens is they become more brazen," said Brian Sexton, deputy supervisor of the state's attorney's gang prosecutions unit. "We've had murders that have happened in the middle of the day, where the shooter's confident because they know nobody will come forward. And if they do, they know they'll be able to intimidate them."
Prosecutors say witnesses who do come forward, usually just after a homicide when emotions are running high, often recant their testimony by the time a case goes to trial. Most back out because they fear for their lives, regardless of whether gangs were involved in the killing.
"A lot of real good killers are out there and are getting away with it because nobody will say anything," said Assistant State's Atty. Michael Smith, head of the gang prosecutions unit.
For as much as it hampers law enforcement, the most profound effect is on families.
