Letting domestic violence criminals go free can be deadly

e-mail this story discuss this issue in our forums Guest column • Rebecca A. Lee-Grigg: Letting domestic violence criminals go free can be deadly (03/02/05) • Debra J. Gammons: Lack of female judges in the state should make our blood boil (03/01/05) • Judith S. Prince: Our elderly still have much to contribute to society (02/28/05) • Karen Iacovelli: School choice is the greatest civil rights issue of our time (02/27/05) • Johnny Price: Eastwood's film creates dangerous universe (02/27/05) More details Rebecca Lee-Grigg, Ph.D., is owner of Lifespan Transformations, LLC, a Greenwood consulting firm specializing in domestic violence training. She is certified by the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), a division of Homeland Security. Readers may reach her at leegrigg@inetgenesis.com.

She wasn't the only woman sentenced to death by "released on bond" in 2003.

In Anderson, a mother of four was murdered and then her husband killed himself. This family had been at MEG's House, Emergency Shelter for Abused Women and Children serving McCormick, Edgefield and Greenwood Counties. The entire family had been threatened at gunpoint and believed they would die at the hands of the father. The mother had four orders of protection issued that year. The week before he killed her, and then himself, he had rammed her car in an attempt to hurt her. He was out of jail on bond, a death sentence for his victim.

An Edgefield County woman was killed by her former boyfriend after she had been strangled unconscious in an earlier incident. Her current boyfriend who was bringing her home from a date was also shot. Her murderer had a violent record including kidnapping and multiple assault charges. The multiple crimes included more than one victim. He was out of jail on bond, a death sentence for the victim.

Domestic violence is a serial crime. Those who commit domestic violence repeat their crime over and over again. When we look at the deaths in our state, arrest records and court documents record long histories of multiple crimes of violence committed by the men who eventually murder. Occasionally, a man is murdered by his intimate partner, but in most cases, the records will show the death follows numerous incidents of violence he committed against a partner who protects herself in the end.

As a federally certified domestic violence trainer, I stress the importance of lethality assessments by professionals who work in the field of domestic violence. Unfortunately, not many judges attend domestic violence training. A lethality assessment is a tool to determine the likelihood that a person has the potential to murder. At the top of the list of indicators is a prior history of domestic violence, threats of homicide or suicide, use of weapons, increasing frequency and severity of domestic violence, hostage taking, violence toward children and other family members, and repeated calls to the police. Destruction of property, cruelty to animals, and setting fires are also dangerous indicators. Throw in some drugs and alcohol, and you have a formula for murder or multiple murders.

Greenville deputy sheriff Antonio "Joe" Sapinoso and his father, killed by his sister's boyfriend, died after months of threats toward the sister.

"If you leave me, I'll kill all your family." This threat is a common theme repeated over and over by abusers in an effort to manipulate and maintain power and control. Family members are often threatened or targeted by domestic abusers. And the most dangerous time of all is when they leave!

The National Department of Justice reports that 45 percent of women who were murdered had left their abusers. Half of the women killed had experienced violence within 30 days of the homicide, some within one or two days. Three-fourths of the women who killed their spouse or partner also had experienced violence within 30 days. The violence was escalating in frequency and severity.

Women who predict their deaths insist that their cries for help fall on deaf ears. Often law enforcement won't make an arrest. Other times, the police make an arrest, but judges set personal recognizance (PR) bonds or cash bonds of no significance. The abuser is out of jail and ready to commit their next serial crime before the victim is released from the emergency room. This is the only crime in our society where the criminal will go home to live with his victim and repeat his crimes over and over again!

The available statistics nationally and in our state have patterns of predictable indicators for who will kill. Why couldn't these indicators be used in making a determination to set bond? If a violent crime has been committed such as strangulation, why do we ask questions at all?

The jails are full? So Charles Christopher Williams was let out on bail. Now that he's a convicted murderer he'll be kept in jail for at least 10 years on appeal. When will this state ever learn, we jail them now or we jail them later. South Carolina has a disgraceful record of victims "sentenced to death" by professionals in various fields of service delivery who minimize the crime.