A House subcommittee approved a bill Wednesday to toughen South Carolina?s domestic violence laws. But some prosecutors who handle criminal domestic violence cases say they don?t think the bill?s penalties are strict enough and it?s not a good enough deterrent.

State Attorney General Henry McMaster is supporting the bill and testified Wednesday morning before the House Criminal Laws subcommittee. He thinks it will help bring down the state?s high domestic violence numbers. "By making it a felony also, and classifying it as a violent crime, what that does is it has implications in the truth-in-sentencing law, which has limitations on parole," he said.

Spartanburg Sen. Jim Ritchie is the bill?s main sponsor. When asked about the assistant solicitors? comments, he said, "Well, I very much disagree with them. And the solicitors I?ve spoken with in my own circuit share their support of the bill. In fact, they believe that calling it a felony for serious bodily injury is very important to a deterrent, as well as the stepped up penalties for repeat offenders is a deterrent."

The bill would leave as misdemeanors first and second offenses of domestic violence, with maximum penalties of 30 days in jail or a $500 fine. Ritchie?s bill would make a third offense a felony and would classify criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature a violent crime. That would make it qualify for the state?s truth-in-sentencing law, so an abuser would have serve at least 85 percent of his sentence.

The bill also would allow judges to suspend part of an abuser?s sentence if he completes a 26-week treatment and counseling course. That course has been successful in other states at keeping offenders from abusing again, according to victim advocates.

But why not make the laws even tougher, since South Carolina has the third highest rate in the nation of women being killed by abusive men? Sen. Ritchie says, "Well, I?d like to think we can toughen the laws over time. But I?m working now to try to step up from the bare minimum that we have today, to put some teeth in the most violent criminals and attack the repeat offenders, which are the real problems. And if this works well, then I think the legislature will have an appetite to come back and do more in the future."

One viewer whose ex-boyfriend has been convicted five times of domestic violence against her wonders why he keeps getting out of jail, when the state has a three-strikes-and-you?re-out law. But domestic violence is not included in the offenses that trigger that law now, and it still wouldn?t be under this new bill. Sen. Ritchie says, "I understand her concern, and we?re trying to address that by calling it a violent crime with mandatory minimum sentences that the judge cannot go below. And I think that will go a great way to breaking that cycle of repeat offenders."

The bill has already passed the full Senate. With its passage in the House subcommittee it now goes to the full House Judiciary committee, then would go on to the full House.

This isn?t the first time state lawmakers have tackled domestic violence. In 2001, they passed a law raising marriage license fees by $20. That money is split between the state?s 13 domestic violence programs and shelters. It brought in around $600,000 in its first year, but it?s expected to bring in about $800,000 the second year. That?s because the law took effect July 1, 2001, but Gov. Jim Hodges didn?t actually sign it until September, so some larger municipalities didn?t collect the higher fee for the first two months.