Wounded wife calls for changes in way bail set for domestic abuse

The Cincinnati Enquirer is reporting that Amy Rezos, whose husband tried three times to kill her, including once from prison and once while out on bail, told Ohio lawmakers Wednesday, they should make it tougher for domestic-violence suspects to get out of jail on bond and prevent them from attacking their victims.

Known as Amy’s law, the bill would ensure that suspects charged in domestic-violence cases, even first-time offenders, go before a judge before they are released on bond.

According to the newspaper, advocates for battered women hailed the bill Wednesday, saying the more information judges can get about defendants, the better decisions they can make about releasing suspects on bond.

From the story:

The Ohio Domestic Violence Network, a statewide coalition of domestic-violence programs, agencies and others working to eliminate domestic violence, says there were 39,436 domestic-violence calls in 2003, compared with 22,486 in 2002. More domestic-violence civil protective orders also were taken out in 2003: 18,626 vs. 18,143.

In 2003 alone, there were more than 25,000 arrests on domestic-violence charges.

Sen. Gary Cates, R-West Chester Township, who is sponsoring the Senate version of Amy's Law, told the Enquirer he expects that every senator will support it. State Rep. Jim Raussen, R-Springdale, who first proposed Amy's Law last year, told the newspaper he is optimistic the bill will be signed into law by June.

After her testimony, committee member Sen. Marc Dann, D-Youngstown, told Ms. Rezos "I am so pleased that you have brought this forward. Time is of the essence. Every day, there could be another situation."

If they are so concerned about protecting the victims of domestic violence, shouldn’t Sen. Marc Dann and the rest of the Ohio Senate and House also act now to close the Media Access Loophole,
so these men can’t find their wives via a newspaper that lists CHL-holders?

"I don't think we need to worry about journalists doing their job," state Sen. Marc Dann, a Youngstown area Democrat, once told Rep. Jim Aslanides, after the Republican warned reporters not to endanger CHL-holders by publishing lists of names in the newspaper.

Dann can be reached at:
Telephone: 614-466-7182
[email protected]