Stop the Abuse

HIGH FIVES: More Effective Prosecution of Abusers in Michigan

The April 21, 2006, issue of the Harbor Light newspaper in Harbor Springs, Michigan, reports that starting in May, prosecutors can use evidence of a victim's past statements and a defendant's previous behavior in domestic violence cases.  The new legislation was signed into law recently by Governor Jennifer Granholm.  The laws are aimed at better protecting women and other victims of domestic abuse.

Good job.

HIGH FIVES: New Maine Law Protects Pets in DV Environments

HIGH FIVES to Maine Goveror John Baldacci.  The Bangor Daily News of March 31, 2006, reported that LD 1881 was signed into law on the 31st, the first law in the country that gives judges the authority to protect pets when domestic abuse victims seek a protection order.

Baldacci called it 'unconscionable' that 76 percent of victims who seek safety at domestic violence shelters report that their abusers either harmed or threatened their pets as a tool to control and intimidate them.  The new law can help break that cycle of violence, he noted.

The landmark law not only gives judges the power to include pets on a protection from abuse order, but also gives them authority to impose penalties if the order is violated.  Those penalties range from a fine to jail time.

The April 1, 2006, edition of the New York Times reported that although Maine is believed to be the first state with such a law, a new program in Columbus, Ohio, takes animals of victims of domestic violence and places them in a women's prison, where the inmates care for them.

In Nashville, the city gives such pets a safe haven for up to 30 days.  And in St. Louis, the Domestic Violence Pet Assistance Program finds foster homes for the animals.

Way to go.  Now let's get this law enacted across the country.