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LawCrossing Legal Daily News Feature
States Tightening Laws on Non-fatal Choking Choking or strangulation remains one of the most common offenses in domestic violence, but it is improperly addressed in many states. Over the last decade, about 30 states have passed laws making non-fatal choking a felony. The most recent states to join the list are Iowa, California, South Dakota and Tennessee. Last week, Virginia passed a similar law. New York passed a law in 2010 that also holds that in domestic violence, non-fatal choking can be a class “C” misdemeanor requiring no proof of injury. That law resulted in 11,000 charges within its first 14 months.
05/14/12
marks on the woman’s throat, no evidence of bruising. Just the verbal allegation and all of a sudden, there’s a
The laws against strangulation and non-fatal choking
felony charge.”
in domestic violence are urged by activists and spearheaded by the National Family Justice Center
Many anti-strangulation laws across the country do not
Alliance. The group helps lawmakers across the country
require physical injury – but only the proof that the
to draft bills, identify witnesses and hold seminars for
attacker tried to harm or induce fear.
the police. The executive director of the group, Gael Strack is a former prosecutor. In a recent interview,
Taking into account the domestic violence situation,
Strack told the media that when a victim survives
the federal government has provided a $400,000
strangulation, no one “seeks the blood or the bruising
grant from the U.S. Justice Department to the NFJCA
or swelling … it’s hard for them to understand that
for funding an anti-strangulation training institute.
she’s just like the victim who was stabbed or shot and
According to the executive director of NFJCA, “The
survived.”
victim needs to be able to get away, and part of that is having the perpetrator be held accountable … the
However, there are people who oppose steps like
perpetrator needs to know that it’s not OK and he’s not
misdemeanors without proof as in New York, or the
going to keep getting away.”
government intruding too much into domestic lives that could easily patch up. William Omansky, a former
Anti-domestic-violence groups seem happy with the
domestic violence prosecutor and defense lawyer told
efforts of the government and the states in passing
the media, “Domestic violence is always bad, but the
new laws, but defense lawyers are still concerned of
way I see it commonly prosecuted, there’s no ligature
the creation of felonies that do not require proof.
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