Legislature(2007 - 2008)BELTZ 211
04/23/2007 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB150 | |
| SB128 | |
| SB78 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 150 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 128 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 141 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| = | SB 78 | ||
SB 150-CRIMES AT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS
CHAIR FRENCH announced the consideration of SB 150.
1:33:04 PM
DONNIE FLEAGLE, Legislative Intern to Senator Davis, relayed
that SB 150 is in response to an event at the Juneau AWARE
Center. She stated the following:
Domestic violence is a serious, significant,
preventable public health challenge for Alaska. Alaska
has the distinction of being in the top five states
for per capita domestic violence rates. And Alaska's
women are being killed by their partners at the rate
of 1.5 times the national average. In 2005 Alaska
shelters provided services to 8,793 clients.
This bill will not solve this social ill. However, it
will bring attention to protecting victims of domestic
violence and will serve to draw the general public's
attention to the need for social change and the
responsibility we all have as citizens to protect the
most vulnerable of populations.
Over time this learned behavior will change when it is
generally known that such behavior can result in
additional time spent incarcerated. Anchorage has seen
that over time rape is committed without the use of a
weapon because it is known that should a weapon be
used, the stakes go up considerably. This legislation
will give courts the ability to impose additional time
above and beyond the presumptive sentence for felonies
committed on the premises of a shelter or a facility
providing services to victims of domestic violence or
sexual assault.
Passage of SB 150 provides a tool that can be used to
send a message that crimes committed on the premises
of a shelter or a facility providing services to
victims of domestic violence or sexual assault are
deserving of the maximum allowable punishment. And
that the safety that is expected in such an
environment will be enforced and respected.
The language in this bill was left purposefully broad,
allowing the courts of each jurisdiction to determine
the definition of facilities and services. If such a
word as "residential" were to be inserted, it would
eliminate STAR, a rape crisis center. It is not tied
to particular facilities or services. Victims receive
services in other places and are entitled to
protection. In rural Alaska there are recognized safe
homes, which do not receive funds from the Council on
Domestic Violence. In this instance, again, the courts
determine the definitions.
1:36:00 PM
SENATOR HUGGINS asked how other states address the issue.
MS. FLEAGLE said Minnesota statute makes it a gross misdemeanor,
but it does not add aggravating factors. She called the
Department of Justice and reviewed the National Crime
Victimization Survey and found that felonies that are committed
at shelters are not broken out so it's difficult to gather
statistics.
CHAIR FRENCH mused about the purposefully broad language and
said although he has some qualms, this will probably be used
only when a crime is committed on the grounds of a recognized
shelter.
MS. FLEAGLE said in rural Alaska federal funds are provided for
safe homes and in those small communities they are known to be
places of refuge. It would be up to local jurisdiction to
determine if that is a recognized shelter or facility, she said.
1:39:20 PM
CHAIR FRENCH opened public testimony.
CHRIS ASHENBRENNER, Interim Program Administrator, Council on
Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault, Juneau, told the committee
that she submitted written testimony. We support this
legislation and believe it's important to send the message that
committing a crime at a safe haven warrants something "extra" in
terms of holding the perpetrator accountable, she said.
She was at the AWARE shelter when the perpetrator tried to break
in several years ago. The perpetrator did not get into the
shelter, but he wasn't held accountable for going after the
victim who was in safe shelter, for putting others at risk, or
for re-traumatizing other victims. She encouraged the committee
to pass the bill because it sends a strong message.
1:41:54 PM
SARALYN TABACHNICK, Executive Director, AWARE Shelter, Juneau,
spoke in support of SB 150. There is a higher expectation and
need for safety for this high risk population, she said.
Referring to the 2005 break in at the shelter, she said it was
traumatic for everyone involved. Passing this bill will promote
increased safety for victims of domestic violence and sexual
assault and it will hold batterers accountable for their
behaviors, she stated.
1:43:48 PM
LINDA STANFORD, Program Director, Artic Women in Crisis (AWIC),
Barrow, spoke in support of SB 150. This is an opportunity to
provide tools for prosecutors and others to hold offenders
accountable, she said. Safety is always a primary goal because
without it you can't provide crisis intervention or help
children report sexual abuse. In 2006 AWIC provided close to
3,000 safe shelter nights for women and children at the Barrow
facility. That figure does not include shelter provided in safe
homes in outlying villages.
When the Dillingham shelter director was asked how she measures
success, she said it's the children. They arrive full of fear
and it takes time before they feel safe enough to want to play.
But it's not just children; it takes time for all victims to
feel safe again. She related several traumatizing events at AWIC
to demonstrate how an entire facility can be impacted when a
perpetrator tries to gain access to a shelter. We have cameras
and other security features at the facility here in Barrow, but
safe homes in the villages don't have those luxuries. Please
take the safe homes into consideration when you look at passing
SB 150, she said. They do need additional protections.
1:50:33 PM
CHAIR FRENCH noted that there are letters of support from the
Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Ms.
Ashenbrenner, Virginia Walsh who is a clinician at the Arctic
Women in Crisis, and Nellie Sears who provides a safe home in
Point Hope.
SENATOR HUGGINS recalled that similar measures had been taken to
make school sites safe. Musing about a young Georgia football
player who received what many believe to be an unusually harsh
sentence and a hypothetical defendant who breaks into a shelter
believing it's a private home, he said he would hate to have
unintended consequences related to the aggravator.
SENATOR McGUIRE asked if mental intent language is used for
aggravators. She suggested amending the bill to make it clear
that this applies to a defendant who committed the offense on
the premises with the intent to threaten or harm staff or
victims. The idea is to avoid the unintended consequences that
Senator Huggins is referring to, she said.
1:53:38 PM
ANNE CARPENETI, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division,
Department of Law, Juneau, advised that this isn't a concern for
factors in aggravation and mitigation. These are discretionary
factors that the court uses in the particular situation that's
involved, she said.
CHAIR FRENCH said under Senator Huggins' hypothetical scenario,
the sentencing judge could decide what way to apply the
aggravator and proceed accordingly.
MS. CARPENETI said yes, and Alaska judges usually have lots of
common sense.
SENATOR McGUIRE recalled that knowingly is the mental intent so
it would be the defendant knowingly committed the offense.
MS. CARPENETI suggested you'd say "committed the offense knowing
that it was a shelter."
1:55:25 PM
SENATOR McGUIRE motioned to report SB 150 from committee with
individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s). There
being no objection, it was so ordered.
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