When a crime has been committed and an arrest has been made, the State has to formally charge the accuser to proceed. This is done by filing with the Clerk of Courts a document called a Criminal Complaint which also happens to be the name of our podcast. A Criminal Complaint is basically the State's theory of a crime. It is a summary of all the evidence collected by law enforcement and a compilation of statements from the victims and or witnesses. It is filed initially with the Clerk of Courts served on the defendant, then is presented to a Court Commissioner in what is called a Preliminary Hearing where the State must proffer evidence to establish that 1), a crime has been committed and 2), that there is probable cause that the accused committed that crime. The Court performs a cursory examination of the evidence, which includes the Criminal Complaint and any victim/witness testimony. If the Court rules that the State failed to meet its burden, the charges—the criminal complaint—will be dismissed. Should probable cause be found the defendant is bound over for trial, bail is discussed, subsequent hearings are scheduled and the journey through the criminal justice system proceeds.Our format is simple; we will read a criminal complaint word for word. The person against whom the criminal complaint is filed will then share with us the facts and details surrounding the criminal complaint and through the judicial process. Our format is also one of accountability. We discuss our conduct with honesty and with respect—We take full responsibility for our choices and, although criminal complaints are public records the details of which any citizen can request, we will not call any victim by name nor use any identifying references. In our extended conversation, we discuss our backgrounds—education, family of origin, social-economic status, and the myriad of factors that contributed to the choices that we made. I say we because I met most of these men while serving almost 24 years in the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. Our goal is not to entertain, but to inform. Who better to discuss the real elements of criminal behavior? Let there be no misunderstanding, this is adult content and is not intended for minors in any context. These are frank and revealing conversations about, in some cases, violent crimes with serious and, at times, fatal results.