COLUMBIA, S.C. - Jackie Olsen's eyes filled with tears moments after the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday approved a bill aimed to strengthen anti-stalking laws in South Carolina.

Olsen's sister, Mary Lynn Witherspoon, was 53 years old when she was strangled in her Charleston home in November 2003 by a man who had been sent to jail five months earlier for breaking in her laundry room.

Olsen has watched each step of the measure, dubbed "Mary Lynn's Law" after her sister, move through the Legislature.

"I just felt like I owed it to her to do something about it," Olsen said.

The bill headed to the Senate floor would require police to give judges incident reports on stalking cases before bail is set. It also adds an aggravated stalking charge with a 10-year penalty.

It also eliminated a ban on automated systems notifying stalking victims of a suspect's release. The bill now requires law enforcement to make personal visits if those systems fail three times to reach a victim.

Witherspoon was killed just days after the man who had been stalking her was released from jail and ordered to get mental health treatment.

Olsen said her sister was stalked by the man for years, but she was too afraid of retaliation to seek a restraining order. The bill would allow police or another person to sign a warrant in place of the victim.

"It allows law enforcement to step in and establish a pattern of stalking," Olsen said. "It plugs the gap so this won't happen to somebody else."

Edmonds Tennent Brown IV pleaded guilty to murder and is serving a life sentence.