Prosecutors push for new Domestic Violence Court on The Murfreesboro Post

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Prosecutors push for new Domestic Violence Court

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By: By LISA MARCHESONI, Senior Writer

Prosecuting domestic violence cases with a prosecutor in a separate court may help deter the violence in homes, the district attorney said.

Four Rutherford County women died in domestic violence homicides during the past four months.

While the court system may not be able to reduce murders, a prosecutor assigned solely to Domestic Violence Court may spend more time with victims and offenders, craft a better solution and deter more violence, said District Attorney Bill Whitesell.

Whitesell joined Domestic Violence Court Coordinator Pam Fone last week in asking the county commission’s Public Safety Committee to approve hiring a fulltime assistant district attorney to prosecute domestic violence cases.

Court costs paid by defendants will pay the salary of the domestic violence prosecutor.

Committee members approved her request that will be considered by the full Rutherford County Commission. If it passes, Fone hopes the court will hold offenders more accountable.

Domestic violence describes a person who uses various intentional methods of abuse and coercion to create and maintain control over a person with whom they have a family relationship, Fone explained.

“It is important to understand that violence is always a choice by offenders” that can only be stopped by the offender, Fone said. “The victim is never at fault.”

The problem is widespread. Presently, about five domestic violence court cases per day are handled in the same General Sessions Court with some 200 to 300 other cases including burglaries, drunk drivers and driving offenses.

Whitesell said one prosecutor handling the emotional and lengthy domestic violence cases will allow more time to craft better solutions.

Fone said a separate court docket for domestic violence will hold offenders more accountable with one prosecutor assigned to handle the cases and keep up with the offenders.

“Victims feel like they’re alone,” Fone said. “I want them to know it’s not OK (to be abused). The only way to stop it is hold offenders responsible.”

General Sessions Court Judge Ben McFarlin indicated he was interested in handling the court, she said. A separate court with a district attorney trained in domestic violence and sexual assault would be less traumatic for victims.

***
The women killed during the past four months were:

- Grandmother Joyce Markam, 40, was shot and killed by her estranged husband, Royce, 59, who in turn killed himself Sunday in the Readyville community.

- Suzanne Vance, 31, the mother of two children, was killed Feb. 28 at her home in the Blackman community. Husband Michael J. Vance is charged with first-degree murder. She was the mother of two children.

She sought help from court after her husband was charged with endangering her life. A protective order was issued barring him from the home.

“Why he was back in the house I can’t answer that,” Whitesell said. “Sometimes there’s nothing we can do about it. We cannot control people’s behavior.”

- Melissa Atkin, 36, the mother of a 5-year-old boy, was fatally shot in her Grassland Drive home near Smyrna. Scott Reynolds, the father of her son, awaits trial for first-degree murder.

- La Vergne mother Nikki Sisounong, 34, disappeared Oct. 31. Her body was found in November in Clarksville. Boyfriend Mario Morgan faces trial for first-degree murder.

***

Since becoming coordinator three years ago, Fone watched domestic violence cases rising to a 22 percent increase over last year, causing victims to be overwhelmed with little court time for their cases.

“People are getting hurt and society is not addressing domestic violence,” Fone said.
Through education and support, Fone and her staff hope to break the cycle of domestic violence.

Murfreesboro Police Detective Tommy Roberts, who investigates domestic violence cases, said detectives spend hours in court waiting for a district attorney to get free from other cases to speak to officers and victims.

“If you have a court dedicated to domestic violence charges, it will make court more efficient,” Roberts said. “I do think that if you’ve got a pros dedicated to domestic violence, they will take it seriously.”

The district attorney who sees a recurring offender hopefully will be sterner the second, third or fourth time, he said. The prosecutor will be specially trained and more adept to serve domestic violence victims a lot better.

Besides handling court cases, Whitesell envisions the prosecutor educating the community about the dynamics of domestic violence.

“Sometimes when you go to trial in one of these cases, people don’t understand the dynamics,” Whitesell said. “The prosecutor could help in the training, public education and training officers to refine our approach.”

Besides the court, Fone and her two part-time workers refer victims to the services offered by the Domestic Violence Program at 896-7377.

She appreciated the officers who come to court and the people who help and support victims in the community.

Lisa Marchesoni may be reached at 869-0814 or at lmarchesoni@murfreesboropost.com.

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Member Opinions:

By: pigintn on 3/9/08
The whole court system needs to be revamped. Someone needs to look into how much overtime officers get because they stand around in court all day waiting for their cases to be settled. Some of these judges need to hold night court or some kind of afternoon/evening court. This city is getting way too big and obviously crime is on the rise. We can't afford to let these judges take off half the day and go play golf anymore.

By: KeptMan on 3/10/08
WAAAAAAHHHHHH!
poor chief piggum. you're angry because the judges take time off to go play golf and you can't? think of the OT the officers get? aren't you one of those? or are you again angry because you don't get the OT? are you just a desk jockey? night court huh? yeah, try to get someone like judge rogers or judge mcfarlin to hold night court.