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Officials say new domestic violence law no panacea but will reduce rate of offenses

With South Carolina leading the nation in the rate of women killed by men, victim advocates and law enforcement officials say the new Domestic Violence Protection Act provides stricter punishment for those convicted of criminal domestic violence.

Under the law which went into effect Jan. 1, third-time repeat offenders will serve a mandatory minimum of 90 days in prison. Criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature is also now categorized as a violent crime and classified as a felony offense.

CDV of a high and aggravated nature involves the use of a deadly weapon, or results in serious bodily harm. The offense also includes provoking imminent fear of bodily injury or death, which was categorized as a nonviolent, misdemeanor offense before the law went into effect.

Aggravated criminal domestic violence carries up to a 10-year prison sentence with a conviction, and the law eliminated the use of a fine for those convicted.

Vickie Bourus, executive director of the South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, said the bill "is a good start, but there are so many areas of the system -- including law enforcement, the judicial system, the treatment system for batterers and special space for victims -- that need to be addressed in more comprehensive ways. This is a very good start, but this is not the end-all, be-all."

While judges are given discretion to mandate counseling for first-, second- and third-time offenders, Bourus said these offenses are still classified as misdemeanor offenses.

In Orangeburg County, first- and second-offense domestic violence carries the same penalty, a fine of up to $500 or 30 days in jail. Third-offense CDV is handled in General Sessions Court and carries up to a three-year prison sentence on a conviction.

Dist. 66 Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, who is also executive director of the local CASA Family Systems agency which works to prevent violence against all victims, introduced the proposed legislation in January along with Dist. 97 Rep. George Bailey.

"I hope that the law will make a difference, but that depends on everybody understanding that there is a new law. I'm still of the opinion that a lot of what needs to be done ... in addressing the problems of domestic violence cannot be legislated," Cobb-Hunter said, including law enforcement training.

"There's still a big gap there in Orangeburg County. The whole point of the law is that it's just another step towards addressing this issue. There are still many, many steps we have to take before we solve this problem," she said.

First Circuit Assistant Solicitor Carol Frick said the new law will help to make a difference in the reduction of CDV rates. She said having aggravated criminal domestic violence changed from a misdemeanor to a felony will make it more difficult for convicted offenders to get parole. She said with the maximum 10-year sentence, offenders were eligible for parole after serving two and a half years, a sentence she doesn't think is long enough.

"A felony is a big deal. The change makes a difference in how the offense is looked at and makes getting parole harder," Frick said. In the past, offenders could face no jail time or just pay a fine. Frick said probation, for example, was "not always good enough" for some CDV offenders.

She said the law is particularly significant for law enforcement officers because it redefines the term "household member," making it clearer as to who the officers can charge for the crime. She said that clarity translates into easier prosecutions against perpetrators.

Under the law, "household member" is redefined as spouses, former spouses, persons who have children in common and a male and a female who are cohabiting or have formerly cohabited.

"I think it's a more accurate definition because the majority of CDV cases are between people who have or have had intimate relations," Orangeburg County Chief Magistrate Willie Robinson said. He said victim's advocates will not necessarily be pleased, however, with the statute's provision which allows a first-time offender to apply to have his arrest and conviction records expunged after three years with no additional convictions.

"They'd actually have to have a fourth conviction before you get to the third offense which carries the mandatory minimum sentence (of 90 days in jail)," Robinson said.

He said the mandatory sentence, however, will serve as a "deterrent" in the commission of CDV offenses.

"The new law is a not a solution, but it's a start in the right direction," Robinson said.

T&D Staff Writer Dionne Gleaton can be reached by e-mail at dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5534.