Can non JWs be witnesses in a committee meeting?

mickbobcat

I am not sure but I know where non JWs have been brought in for a witness to a judicial meeting. What is the official policy on this?

road to nowhere

Stated Official policy is kind gentle men working to set things straight.

Actual practice is use any means available in a kangaroo court. The non jw witnesses are for prosecution only.

They take themselves quite seriously so I'm guessing not. If by chance an non JW were allowed in, they'd probably have to sign a non disclosure agreement and wear a burlap bag over their head, on the way to and during the meeting.

FFGhost

Non-JWs can be used as eyewitnesses to establish the "two witness" bit. But as noted above, it's as "witness for the prosecution" only.

The judicial committee is primarily there to cast judgment on the "genuineness" of the repentance of the accused, as if that were somehow possible.

EDIT: Just got to add, I would think that inviting a "worldly" person to a JW judicial committee would be the number one, absolutely fool-proof method to inoculate that "worldly person" from ever joining the JW nuthouse.

nowwhat?

It's closed door tribunal where the person is presumed guilty and the only thing left to do is pronounce sentance! Very similar in how the pharasee's tried jesus . So the witnesses follow the scriptures in this regard

Bobcat

I agree with nowwhat. If the elders did things according to the Society's rules, they will already have determined guilt or innocence before any JC is formed. So that the JC itself would be more akin to a sentencing hearing, where the elders are trying to determine if there is any reason for leniency. (Of course, there is an outside chance that new evidence presented during a JC might change presumed guilt to innocence. But that would be the exception rather than the rule. Any new evidence would probably be met with the elders wondering why you didn't present this evidence earlier.)

If the elders had determined that a person wasn't guilty of the alleged sin, then, there would be no JC formed. Any non-JW witnesses to the alleged 'crime' would have been heard from before the JC was formed.

And that's probably why non-JWs would most likely not be allowed into a JC. At that point they would only be seen as character witnesses. And the elders would have no use for such.

Of course, all that is assuming they were going by WT rules. That doesn't always happen. The WT and elders would probably not admit to this, but KS schools spend a lot of time dealing with JC issues where the elders didn't follow their rules.

James Jack

Done it before. Depends on the person and his reputation in the community.

joe134cd

I remember a sex abuse case. I think it was in Wales. What initially got the ball rolling was when a member of the public walked into a KH and made a complaint to the elders in the offenders congregation. I think it was after this complaint that the elders were literally forced to do something as there were also a host of complaints from inside the congregation regarding the same Person. Anybody remember this.

truth_b_known

I recall an assembly or convention dramatization (or maybe one of these new JW videos for conventions) in which a young brother was in a judicial committee meeting for fornication. The story rolls out that he claims this "worldly" women seduced him. The elders tell this brother that they spoke to the woman and she claims the young brother was in the driver's seat for the whole affair.

Does anyone else remember this dramatization?

neat blue dog

Yes it was an Elders video, but they didn't use her as a witness, it was his own words that did him in when he contradicted himself.