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Article published Jan 5, 2004
Abusers confront felony rap
Associated
Press
GREENVILLE -- Victim advocates hope to see criminal domestic
violence rates fall as a new law takes hold in South Carolina.South Carolina has
the nation's highest rate of women killed by men. But until the new law went
into effect Thursday, criminal domestic abuse of a high and aggravated nature
was not a felony. Now convicted batterers will face mandatory jail time.The new
law's architect, Spartanburg state Sen. Jim Ritchie, said he pursued it because
his home county has the highest rate of domestic violence in the state."We did
not do a good job of protecting the most vulnerable in their own homes," he
said.In Greenville, victims advocate Susan Gowens said the new law and jail time
are signs South Carolina is getting serious about stopping the problem."We have
to come up with a plan to deter perpetrators," she said. "I think with the new
law, things will change."In September, the Violence Policy Center in Washington
reported that 61 of the 64 women killed in South Carolina in 2001 knew their
attacker. State Law Enforcement Division records from 2000 show 36,000 cases of
domestic violence, ranging from intimidation to aggravated assault. While
similar figures aren't available for 2002, SLED data shows nearly a quarter of
the 26,214 aggravated assault victims statewide that year were in an intimate
relationship with the batterer.In the past, bodily injury, use of a deadly
weapon or provoking imminent fear of harm weren't enough to bring jail time for
batterers. Those now are considered criminal domestic abuse -- a violent offense
that brings a minimum 90-day sentence for convicts. In the past, offenders could
pay a fine and face no jail time.Ritchie says the batterers also get help under
the law. Judges can reduce sentences if the person goes through a certified
training class.Greenville Safe Harbor Executive Director Renee Middleton says
she's not sure how effective that will be."We need to do a lot more research on
batterers' treatment programs," she said.She recalls only one case where
counseling turned around a batterer who admitted he had a problem."It's very
difficult for a batterer to change his behavior," she said.Batterers sometimes
end up angrier and blame victims for having to go to classes, she said. And the
hitting can be replaced by verbal abuse, she said.First-time offenders also can
have public records expunged after three years if they are not convicted of a
domestic violence offense."We're not in favor of anyone getting their records
expunged," Middleton said.