Strengthening domestic violence law a good move

June 9, 2005

Legislation signed into law earlier this week further strengthens domestic violence laws. They were bolstered somewhat by previous legislation that called for mandatory minimum sentences for repeat offenders. Another fairly recent change made it less intimidating for a victim to testify at the offender’s parole hearing.

The new law decrees, among other changes, that a first offense will be subject to a minimum fine of $1,000 or 30 days in jail. A judge can still order completion of an intervention program in lieu of the fine, however, and many times they do.

But this aspect should be more closely monitored, as should the number of cases that are pleaded down or even dropped. We need to know our state’s real record in offenses and how we deal with the offenders, not just what actually goes through the formal court system.

A report in The State in mid-May indicated that "more than a third of the most serious criminal domestic violence cases statewide have been dropped in the four years since South Carolina’s attorney general (at the time, Charlie Condon) ordered prosecutors not to drop any unless absolutely necessary." With dismissals and reduced charges, that means almost half the cases in our state during that period never went to trial. Prosecutors might note, and rightly so, that in some cases there is a lack of evidence to ensure a win in court, and even reluctant witnesses or even more reluctant victims. But it’s still a dreadful record of accommodations that, for whatever reason, further victimizes the victim.

Also during that four-year period, the report continued, 1,500 people charged with criminal domestic violence were accepted into pre-trial intervention intended only for first-time offenders. More attention to keeping proper records might help this loophole be properly closed.

While Gov. Mark Sanford’s recognition that South Carolina must change both the way it treats victims of domestic violence and punishes the offenders is appreciated, a release from his office regarding signing the legislation into law mentioned nothing about the efforts of lawmakers.

It was a struggle to get this legislation passed. Lawmakers of both parties actually crafted the legislation and did so in spite of skeptics as well as jokesters who exhibited the ultimate in poor taste during a portion of the proceedings.

No legislation is available to be signed that isn’t first created, debated and passed by lawmakers. We’re pleased the governor signed this particular legislation into law. But it’s unfortunate his office failed to recognize in public that his efforts would have been of no use without first those of the members of the legislature who also recognized change in this area was indeed a life and death issue.

It isn’t about who gets credit. It’s about who benefits from the legislation. And that will be victims of criminal domestic violence. But this was not the effort of one man, as was implied by the news release.

This was a number of men — and women — who saw a wrong and set out to correct it. We say they all deserve a mention.

Copyright 2005, Anderson Independent Mail. All Rights Reserved.