Stumbo files “Amanda’s Bill” to protect domestic violence victims

FRANKFORT — House Speaker Greg Stumbo pre-filed a bill Thursday that would allow judges to order electronic monitoring devices for the most dangerous domestic violence offenders.

At a press conference at the capitol, Stumbo said if “Amanda’s Bill” is passed, it would give victims a “fighting chance.” The legislation was prompted after the high-profile murder of Amanda Ross, a Department of Insurance employee who was allegedly gunned down outside of her Lexington home by her former fiance, Steve Nunn.

Ross had taken out a protection order against Nunn, a former state legislator and son of former governor Louie Nunn, earlier this year and had told friends and co-workers that she feared for her life in the days before her Sept. 11 death. Nunn has pleaded not guilty to her murder.

Diana Ross, Amanda Ross’s mother, attended Thursday’s press conference. Ross said in a written statement that the family felt that it should use its loss to protect others.

“Today with this proposal bearing Amanda’s name, we begin our effort to honor her life while working to help others,” Ross said. “This legislative proposal is a good first step. Our prayer is that once enacted that it will keep other families from losing a loved one.”

Stumbo said not all people who have a domestic violence order filed against them would be required to wear a global positioning device, commonly called a GPS. A risk assessment would be conducted by a judge or by the court staff. Those who are considered the most dangerous would then be required to wear a GPS bracelet.

Stumbo said based on what was known about the Ross’s case, it is likely that Nunn would have been required to have worn such a device if it had been available.

“There has never been a death as fas as what we know as a result of this system,” Stumbo said.

Diane Rosenfeld, a Harvard Law School lecturer, is helping Stumbo write the proposed legislation. Rosenfeld said Thursday that for high risk cases, the legislation allows a court to impose GPS monitoring as a condition of bail for a person charged with a domestic violence crime, or for a person charged with a violation of a protective order, Rosenfeld said.

If GPS is used, teams should be in place that represent a coordinated community response, said Rosenfeld “so that when there is a high risk case, law enforcement and the criminal justice system is able to contain the offender.’’

“The key is the realization that if you take seriously every single domestic violence case you can prevent domestic violence homicide,” she said.

Rosenfeld provided Stumbo with a report Thursday that showed that in Kentucky, intimate partner violence is a factor in 45% of all homicides of women.

In Massachusetts, one of 17 states with electronic monitoring for domestic violence offenders, only 20 percent of offenders were under GPS monitoring from 2006 to 2008, Rosenfeld said.

In Michigan, a law allowing electronic monitoring passed in 2008. Ryan Wenberg, the chief of staff for Republican state Rep. Bill Caul, said that if a judge determines that an offender poses such a high risk that electronic monitoring is needed, the offender must pay for the system. The cost can range from $6 to $12 each day.

Generally, Wenberg said, the offender must remain in jail if they are unwilling to pay.

Fayette County and other counties in the state have used a similar system to track those on home incarceration or on probation and parole. In Fayette County, it costs the offender about $7.50 a day to wear the device. If the victim also wants to wear a device that would alert him or her if the perpetrator is near, it would cost approximately $5 a day, Stumbo said.

But there are still details to be worked out. Stumbo said it’s still not clear whether there will be any start-up costs for counties that don’t already have a GPS home detention system in place. But Stumbo said that the system could also be used for other criminal cases, saving the state and counties money by not having to house detainees in jails and prisons.

The Fayette County system is supported by fees paid for offenders and does not require additional state dollars, Stumbo said.

Stumbo said he believed that that the GPS monitoring system was constitutional. There have been recent court cases in Massachusets and New York challenging the use of GPS systems in some criminal cases.

Stumbo, a former attorney general, said the system would survive any court challenge because a GPS system did not determine guilt or innocence “it just restricts conduct,” he said.

Carol Jordan, of the University of Kentucky Center for Research on Violence Against Woman, applauded the legislation, saying that any tool that would help the abused feel secure was a step in the right direction.

“It’s targeted to the most dangerous offenders,” Jordan said. Those offenders are the most likely to re-offend.

About a dozen House members co-signed the bill on Thursday.

It’s fate in the Republican-controlled Senate is unclear.Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, was not available for comment on Thursday.

Tom Buford, a Republican state senator whose district includes part of Fayette County, said that he thinks that many lawmakers will favor this bill, regardless of party affiliation or whether they serve in the Senate or House of Representatives.

“I’m all for it,” said Buford, R-Nicholasville. “It’s almost going to be almost impossible to stand down and not support a bill of this measure not only given the recent circumstance with Ms. Ross” but also because all lawmakers have had constituents who have faced similar problems with domestic violence.

Buford said there might be some constitutionality questions, but he thinks those can be ironed out.

“We need to do something,” Buford said. “This is the best thing I’ve heard of in the last six months.”

– Beth Musgrave

Filed Under: Featured • KY General Assembly • State Government