State Representative Marian Harris, D-Columbus, is focused on preventing serial domestic violence and strengthening prosecutorial powers, according to an article in today's Columbus Dispatch:
The tentative measures in Harris' bill include: • Mandate felony charges for repeat domestic-violence offenders. Ohio law currently gives discretion to prosecutors to decide whether to elevate charges against repeat abusers to a felony. In Franklin County, only 17 percent of cases against the worst batterers have resulted in felony convictions. Those offenders collectively represent 176 convictions since 2000. • Require an arrest when a civil-protection order is violated. Ohio law currently gives law-enforcement agencies discretion. At least other 30 states mandate an arrest when offenders ignore court orders to stay away from victims. • Establish judicial-review hearings so that abusers meet with judges regularly to prove compliance with court orders. Offenders also would be required to get batterers-intervention counseling, a measure that mirrors laws in at least 16 other states. • Form fatality-review boards to examine circumstances surrounding homicides involving domestic violence to determine where the system failed. Ohio's Montgomery County has had a review board for years. • Set up a statewide tracking system for civil-protection orders. Currently, no state agency tracks violations of civil-protection orders, the number of requests that are denied or even the number of orders in effect. • Hold local law-enforcement agencies accountable for reporting domestic-violence runs. Despite a 25-year-old law requiring authorities to report domestic-violence calls to the state, nearly a quarter of law-enforcement agencies ignore the mandate. Gov. Ted Strickland, House Speaker Armond Budish, D-Beachwood, and Senate President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, have pledged support for reform after a close examination of the state's approach to domestic violence.
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