Published on June 25, 2025

Professor Rachel Wechsler was recently quoted in a Boston Globe article discussing a case of homicide:

Rachel Wechsler, an associate professor at the University of Missouri School of Law who studies gender-based violence, said victims of violent crime often report low levels of satisfaction with the criminal justice system. Incidents like officers failing to arrest Boyette before he allegedly committed murder risk further damage to that relationship, she said.

“It certainly can affect the opinion of the competency of people in the system,” Wechsler said. “It sounds like from the report that there was either a failure of communication or a failure of court officers to carry out their duties.”

Victims of violent crime are often reluctant to testify for a variety of reasons, Wechsler added, from a desire to move on, to fear of retaliation, to the risk of retraumatization when cross-examined and confronted with their attacker in the courtroom.

“It can be a very unpleasant experience for a witness,” she said.

To read the full article, visit: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/24/metro/kevin-boyette-tatyiana-flood-homicide-roxbury/.