Staff Writer The Columbus Dispatch
If those who beat their partners want to pick a fight, Ohio's top leader is willing to give them one.
And Gov. Ted Strickland is willing to help throw the first legislative punch.
"Society must send a clear message that these behaviors are not acceptable and will not be tolerated," Strickland said yesterday. "People who abuse and continue to abuse have come to assume that there will be no consequences. That needs to change. We should be looking at whatever we can to stop this terrible, terrible behavior." In response to a Dispatch investigation that showed Ohio's tolerance of and indifference toward domestic violence, Strickland called for a sweeping examination of, and reforms to, Ohio's approach to the crime.
Some of the potential changes Strickland said the state should explore include:
• Increasing penalties for repeat offenders, including stiffer punishment for those who violate civil-protection orders.
• Strengthening domestic-violence laws so that prosecutors can follow through with cases even if the victim recants.
• Establishing judicial review hearings that require convicted batterers to meet with a judge on a regular basis to prove they no longer are abusing and are complying with all court orders.
• Forming fatality-review boards to examine the circumstances surrounding homicides involving domestic violence to determine where the system failed.
No state has the perfect solution to protect victims and punish abusers, but some programs and policies elsewhere have proved successful in reducing domestic violence.
"If we can learn from what other states have done, that would be very, very helpful," Strickland said. "There should be a clear difference between first-time offenders versus repeat offenders. I understand the need for intervention programs and getting them help, but if they repeat the abuse, I think you throw the book at them."
Senate President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, and Democratic House Speaker Armond Budish of Beachwood both pledge support in finding ways to curb domestic violence.
The four-month Dispatch investigation "Domestic Silence" found that at least 35 men in Franklin County have been charged at least five times on domestic-violence-related charges since 2000 but have spent little post-conviction time behind bars.
In a Study of DV offender court cases in 2022, and the DV offenders entire criminal case history in Clark County, SDVC Found:
Identification of 22 men with at least 21 to 50 criminal charges with between 7 to 41 of those charges as domestic violence.
Identification of 38 men with at least 10 to 20 criminal charges with between 3 to 15 of those charges as domestic violence.
These 60 Serial Domestic Violence offenders are habitual offenders with extensive criminal histories of multiple different crimes and additional charges for assault, robbery, and gun offenses. These men affect not only their current domestic violence victims and do harm to multiple members of the community with their actions. To be 100% clear, SDVC is addressing the issue of Serial Offenders. These serial offenders exhibit similar characteristics to serial killers, rapists, and pedophiles.
The series also found that in the past nine years, the number of victims seeking protection orders in Ohio has nearly doubled.
BELOW; Table Of petitions for civil domestic violence protection orders - and outcome
(Clark County 2003 - 2023)
Ohio law prefers arrests in domestic-violence cases, but only a few Ohio police departments make arrests in all cases
About 45 percent of all 75,000 domestic-violence runs by police end without an arrest, which is close to the national average.
The crime costs the cash-strapped state more than $1 billion annually in social services and medical care for victims.
And if not properly addressed, domestic abuse can be fatal. Nearly 17,000 people, mainly women, are killed each year by an intimate partner, according to the National Coalition of Domestic Violence, a nonprofit advocacy group based in Denver.
Although Strickland supports stiffer punishment for offenders, the governor also said that finding help for abusers is an important part of the solution. Strickland, a former prison psychologist, said Ohio should consider a mandatory program for batterers in an attempt to change their behavior. But he said that doing more to protect individuals and families living in abusive households should be the priority for state leaders as options to combat domestic violence are considered. "The terror and helplessness some people feel keeps them trapped," Strickland said. "It's our responsibility to give them a way out."
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