The Attorney General of South Carolina stands by those impacted by domestic violence!
Alan Wilson, South Caroline Attorney General, is pressing for reforms in criminal statutes that deal with domestic violence charges. Explaining the serious need for overhaul, Wilson said that in 2014, SC was ranked second in the list of states with the highest number of homicides linked to domestic violence against women.
Despite this, a man could get away with a mere slap on the wrist and a paltry sentence of 50 days in prison for causing grievous bodily harm to his partner. In fact, the penalty for beating a pet is considerably severe and involves a 5 year prison term, which shows the lack of empathy towards victims of domestic violence.
At this point, perpetrators of domestic violence or not punished on the basis of the injuries caused to the victim; instead, the prison term is linked to the number of such transgressions on the defendant’s records. Essentially, if this is the first time a person is charged with domestic violence, he would only get a short sentence even if the victim has suffered serious injuries.
If Wilson has his way, things will change dramatically, earning reprieve to victims of such crimes from their abusive partners. The Attorney General intends to table a bill that would make the punishment commensurate to the crime in cases of domestic violence just as it currently stands for assault and battery charges where the punishment is proportional to the extent of harm done to the victim.
Source: http://www.carolinalive.com/news/story.aspx?id=1163946#.VOOC7i5N88s