In October, 2001 I wrote a column about domestic violence in MetroBeat that discussed the fact that while beating a dog or a stranger in the street is considered a felony and punished accordingly, beating your wife or domestic partner once or twice is considered a misdemeanor under South Carolina law. Four years later, nothing has changed and I'm just as pissed as ever about that...and that's how I wound up on the cover of The Greenville News this morning. I attended a public hearing on domestic violence last night at the public library. I didn't intend to make waves, just support my good friend Teresa who's a survivor of domestic abuse and an advocate but as luck and my big mouth would have it I just had to ask the question that still nags at me. Why does the South Carolina legislature place a higher value on animals than women in this state?

Dog fighting is a felony in South Carolina, under the Animal Fighting and Baiting Act. A conviction on dog fighting subjects you to a six-month prison term for a first conviction and a maximum fine of $500, while a third conviction for dog fighting can earn you a $5,000 or a 5 year prison sentence. Domestic violence on the other hand is a misdemeanor on the first and second offenses. Current state law defines the offense of criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature when the person intentionally commits an assault and battery which involves the use of a deadly weapon or results in serious bodily injury to the victim then...it's a felony. But...get this, under current state law, even when the offender cause serious bodily injury to the victim and uses a deadly weapon, the judge still may suspend prison time (up to ten years) and place the offender on probation conditioned upon the offender completing a program designed to treat batterers.

You've got to be kidding me. I've got news for you. Republicans always go around saying their tough on crime. Well...get tough on men who beat the hell out of their wives. What makes sense out of handing out mandatory prison time to people who beat their dogs but not to wife beaters? Why in the world would you allow criminals who use guns to beat women into submission to enter a treatment program and avoid prison time?

At the hearing last night, everyone was all excited about changes in the law that will toughen penalties for first time offenders. First offense fines will be increased to up to $2,500 and 30-day jail terms. Whoopee! I'm not impressed. The only way we're going to stop women from being slaughtered in this state and change the mind set that makes dogs more valuable to our state legislature than women is to change the domestic violence law and make first offense domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature with serious bodily injury, a felony, with mandatory prison time. No if's ands or buts.

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