Greene County has already seen over 1,300 ex-parte orders of protection filed this year because of adult abuse. In this segment of our series, “Turned Away: A Crisis of Missouri’s Domestic Violence Shelters,” KSMU’s Jennifer Moore look at Missouri law regarding domestic violence, and why these cases are often difficult to prosecute.
Standing guard at the entrance to the Christos House domestic violence shelter in rural southern Missouri is a stray, black Labrador, “Dolly.” Shelter manager Kelly Neel enters the security code and lets us inside. This shelter has been full for most of this year, she says, which means it turns victims away about once a week.
One of the most frustrating parts about her job, she says, is the lack of accountability she feels abusers face, both in society, and in the courtroom.
She herself is a domestic abuse survivor.
“What I can speak to is, personally, my ex-husband was charged with a Class B Felony Assault in a local county. It was pled down to a Class A Misdemeanor, and that was not his first offense. There were a multitude of offenses in another state where we were from, but they were all on record. But he still managed to plead down to a Class A Misdemeanor. That’s a slap on the hand and, ‘Behave yourself, don’t do it again,’” she said.
Probation and plea bargains, she said, are very common among domestic violence cases she sees today as she does court advocacy for the residents here.
“We don’t do those people favors, either. Because they’re just taught that [they] can get by with it. They’re shown: if I have enough money, or if I have enough pull and clout here, I can do what I want. Well, when we’re going to schools saying, ‘You can’t do this and get by with it,’ why are we later telling adults, ‘You can do this and get by with it?”
I wanted to learn more about Missouri’s actual criminal code—what the law says about domestic violence, and how it should be prosecuted and sentenced.
Missouri has just done a serious revision to its criminal code. The goal was to streamline and organize the laws. There will now be four degrees of domestic assault instead of three. So, going into effect on January 1, 2017, the law will include language about isolation of the victim, something that frequently happens in domestic violence cases.
Domestic Assault in the Fourth Degree will be defined as trying to cause or recklessly causing physical injury to a domestic victim—including causing physical injury using a deadly weapon. But that’s a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail, or much more common, a fine and probation.
One of the attorneys who worked for years with the Missouri Bar to advise lawmakers on the new code is Steve Sokoloff, prosecuting attorney in Dunklin County, in southeast Missouri.
“Domestic assault in the first degree is a Class A Felony if there’s serious physical injury. It’s a Class B Felony if there’s not serious physical injury,” Solokoff said.
Domestic assault in the first degree, looking at the new revised statutes, is defined as attempting to kill or knowingly causing or trying to cause serious physical injury to a domestic victim.
That can hold a sentence of at least ten years behind bars…or, Sokoloff said, depending on the case, it could end up in no jail time—and just probation.
“Yes. In all of these offenses, the court has the option in sentencing to probation, or any number of treatments-- Basically, those alternative sentencing provisions are limited only by the judge’s creativity and Constitutional requirements and limitations,” Solokoff said.
I ask him if probation alone is an appropriate and logical sentence for someone who knowingly caused serious physical injury—or even attempted to kill someone.
“Every case is different is the answer to that question. In some cases it’s not. In some cases, it might be. In 35 years of doing this, domestic assault cases are some of the most difficult to prosecute,” Solokoff said.
And domestic violence cases are difficult for a myriad of reasons, he said.
“Frequently, A) there’s no witness besides the victim. B) Frequently, there’s an uncooperative victim. C) A lot of times law enforcement doesn’t take it as seriously as other crimes, and therefore the investigation is not as adequately performed,” Solokoff said.
Victims are often emotionally and financially dependent upon their perpetrators, he said, and thus unwilling to testify against them.
That’s why more courts may begin implementing diversion programs that take jail time off the table and get both victim and perpetrator into counseling.
“And before they even get to the arraignment or plea stage of the case, they are offered an opportunity to be diverted out of the court into a counseling and supervision program for the both of them. And if they successfully complete that, a period of probation is imposed after that,” Solokoff said.
Another change that was made to the criminal code is that the charges are enhanced for repeat offenders.
“That is, if you have a prior and you get a new assault or domestic assault, it bumps it up a class. And so, say if you knowingly cause physical injury to a domestic victim, and you’ve done it before, then instead of being an E Felony, it’s a D Felony. If you do it again, it becomes a C Felony,” Sokoloff said.
Out of all of the domestic violence victims I interviewed for this series, who have experienced strangulation, use of a deadly weapon, house arrest and permanent physical scars, only one saw her perpetrator serve any jail time.
I asked 28-year-old Brandi, who endured severe isolation and physical violence, why her husband never went to jail.
She tells me that she didn’t pursue any criminal charges against him. But it wasn’t because of an emotional or financial dependence on him – it was because she feared his retaliation.
