Issue Position: Domestic Violence

Issue Position

iDOMESTIC VIOLENCE - A HEALTHCARE ISSUE
(because I say so - and it's MY website)

Once again the local newspaper did a year end filler (December 2009) story on the poorly-named Domestic Violence issue. Mary Jones (not her real name) got the crap beat out of her by her first husband; divorced the jerk; married another wife-beater. After the latest beating wherein Mr. DeSade threatened to kill her, Mary filed a complaint with the Lee County Sheriff's Department for battery.

"What did you do to provoke him" inquired the complaint-desk sergeant, who likely sees nothing wrong with setting the little lady straight in his own home if she gets 'a little out of line'? And so it goes.

First of all, "domestic violence" does not adequately define the situation. When we see or hear about a case of "domestic violence," the picture that pops in everyone's head is that of a sobbing, bruised, and bleeding woman cowering before the clenched fist of some guy, who invariably is bigger and stronger than she. Of course, there are cases of some women kicking the crap out of their husbands or boyfriends (eh, Tiger?), but we all know what really goes on here. N.O.W. nonsense notwithstanding, men are bigger, stronger, and a lot more aggressive. Men are hunters. Women nurture, Women are gatherers.

And what damn difference does it make why he teed off on her anyway ? What we know is that, given the opportunity, the asshole will do it again. So, the woman gets a restraining order and a shelter to hide out in. Tough guy gets out on bail, and a liberal judge orders counseling. Then he charges right through that restraining order and puts Mary in the Emergency Room or worse.

WHY DO THESE THINGS HAPPEN ?

I don't know and I don't care. I want it to stop. No liberal Judges, unsympathetic desk sergeants, overworked counselors and case workers, or well-meaning but useless government programs.

WHAT SHOULD WE DO ?

When a woman gets assaulted, the court would issue a restraining order. If the thug has any contact with the victim, ever, he is sent to jail for 90 days. The victim is issued a Glock 9mm handgun with a box of hollow point bullets ( hollow points won't pass through the asshole and injure others ) and she is given an extensive 89 day course on how to use it. Then she is issued mace, a bullet-proof vest, and a license to bag ( limit one ) the abusive offender; anytime; any place, open season - shoot on site. If she nails him, she gets a $10,000 bounty from the government, and a coupon for 20% off from a taxidermist.

Goodbye Earl.

Then we can set up anonymous 'shelters' for
battered and abused (and dead) men.

Oh, you have a better idea? No? I didn't think so.

OTHER SOLUTIONS

Take every third lawyer out and shoot them (remember - judges are lawyers).

JUDGE DESADE

Her father, a Texas Judge, calls this 'punishment' for stealing - which she did. She downloaded music from the internet. Full disclosure; I used to download music from the internet - most of which is public domain,but I did download some more recent stuff until I discovered it was illegal.

This isn't 'punishment', it's Sadism - most especially to a teenage girl. While i believe discipline is the purview of the parents, this is way over the line - and that 'judge' knows it. He should be prosecuted (but then there is the statute of limitations).

MARISSA ALEXANDER GETS 2O YEARS

When will this crap end? Marissa Alexander gets 20 years because she " fired in the direction of a room where two children were standing?" Under the 'Sawyer Rule." she could have saved the repair bill and just plugged the abusive husband. Oh wait. This was the first time he abused her - right?

(CNN) Saying he had no discretion under state law, a judge sentenced a Jacksonville, Florida, woman to 20 years in prison Friday for firing a warning shot in an effort to scare off her abusive husband. Marissa Alexander unsuccessfully tried to use Florida's controversial "stand your ground" law to derail the prosecution, but a jury in March convicted her of aggravated assault after just 12 minutes of deliberation.

The case, which was prosecuted by the same state attorney who is handling the Trayvon Martin case, has gained the attention of civil rights leaders who say the African-American woman was persecuted because of her race. After the sentencing, Rep. Corrine Brown confronted State Attorney Angela Corey in the hallway, accusing her of being overzealous, according to video from CNN affiliate WJXT.

"There is no justification for 20 years," Brown told Corey during an exchange frequently interrupted by onlookers. "All the community was asking for was mercy and justice," she said. Corey said she had offered Alexander a plea bargain that would have resulted in a three-year prison sentence, but Alexander chose to take the case to a jury trial, where a conviction would carry a mandatory sentence under a Florida law known as "10-20-life."
The law mandates increased penalties for some felonies, including aggravated assault, in which a gun is carried or used.

Corey said the case deserved to be prosecuted because Alexander fired in the direction of a room where two children were standing. Alexander said she was attempting to flee her husband, Rico Gray, on August 1, 2010, when she picked up a handgun and fired a shot into a wall. She said her husband had read cell phone text messages that she had written to her ex-husband, got angry and tried to strangle her.

She said she escaped and ran to the garage, intending to drive away. But, she said, she forgot her keys, so she picked up her gun and went back into the house. She said her husband threatened to kill her, so she fired one shot. "I believe when he threatened to kill me, that's what he was absolutely going to do," she said. "That's what he intended to do. Had I not discharged my weapon at that point, I would not be here."

Alexander's attorneys tried to use the state law that allows people to use potentially deadly force anywhere they feel reasonably threatened with serious harm or death.

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