A bill to make a second offense of domestic assault a felony died in committee after Republican senators debated the proper way to prevent domestic violence and deal with it in the criminal justice system.
Under current state law, domestic assault becomes a felony on a third conviction, said Sen. Angela Hill, R-Picayune. Her legislation would have elevated a second offense from a misdemeanor to a felony, a change she said would deter people from continuing to offend.
“I think these folks know that it’s a misdemeanor, they know they’re going to go to municipal court and they know they can continue on until they get a third time in that municipal court,” Hill said.
Mississippi law states a person is guilty of simple domestic violence if he or she attempts to harm a spouse, romantic partner or certain family members, negligently hurts another with a deadly weapon or means likely to produce serious harm, or attempts to put another in fear of imminent serious harm. Aggravated domestic violence entails a person attempting to cause serious bodily injury to another person.
Simple assault can also include nonviolent actions, such as threatening someone.
The bill prompted concern from some other senators, who said the proposal would charge more people with felonies without addressing the root causes of domestic violence.
“Until we actually get to the point of addressing what creates domestic violence, this is not doing anything,” said Sen. Brice Wiggins R-Pascagoula.
Mississippi has the nation’s highest rate of domestic violence deaths caused by guns, Wiggins said. He said lawmakers needed to tailor solutions around scientific insights that shed light on domestic violence, such as findings that show strangulation is a red flag for a pattern of violence.
Law enforcement and advocates for domestic violence victims have said is a reluctance to charge and prosecute aggravated domestic violence — particularly in the case of strangulation — because it is difficult for prosecutors to get a conviction in court.
“We need to have a serious discussion about domestic violence in this state and also moving into the 21st century about how we address domestic violence,” Wiggins added. “It is killing our law enforcement officers, it is killing our people and our solution is, let’s elevate to a felony.”
Sen. Daniel Sparks, R-Belmont, said the misdemeanor status for second offenses was important to preserve so people don’t face harsh penalties for nonviolent crimes.
“While I don’t need to be yelling or swearing at my family members, I don’t also need to have a felony for yelling or swearing,” Sparks said. “I’m just very, very concerned that we’re going to felonize a lot of the cases that I see in the misdemeanor courts that do not rise to the level of a felony.”
Sparks ultimately voted to advance the proposal, but Democrats and other Republicans joined to kill the bill.
Then the committee approved a bill that would reduce the crime of selling fireworks out of season from a felony to a misdemeanor. Hill wasn’t pleased.
“I think as the only woman on this committee, I think I look out here and see the women’s faces that are just in dismay that this committee killed a bill that would have elevated domestic violence second offense to a felony and we’re talking about fireworks, I don’t think that speaks too well of us today,” Hill said.
The post Bill to make second domestic assault conviction felony dies in committee, sparks debate appeared first on Mississippi Today.