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Never allow domestic violence to flourishBy HOWARD TROXLER © St. Petersburg Times, published December 4, 1998 It did no good. This past Monday morning, Lucas, 39, was chased down the streets of her Tampa neighborhood like a hunter's prey. She was shot dead as she cowered in a stranger's front yard. Her abusive boyfriend, Ricky R. Vann, then turned himself in. Earlier this year, a Dunedin woman named Helene Ball McGee asked for court protection against her husband but didn't qualify. She told a co-worker, prophetically: "Maybe he's going to have to kill me before I can get a restraining order." Two weeks later, McGee was stabbed to death. Deputies found her husband hiding submerged in a drainage ditch behind her house, wearing camouflage and a black mask. It should be said that overall, we are doing a better job with domestic violence than just a few years ago. Police have stepped up their training. Courts are turning more attention to it. But there is more we can and should do. In Tampa, where Lucas lived, police adopted a zero-tolerance policy in 1994. If they arrive at a scene and have probable cause to believe domestic violence occurred, somebody gets arrested and taken away. The victim gets counseling and information on how to get help. In the first year of this new policy, Tampa had 18 domestic violence homicides. The next year, there were 12. The next year, six. Last year, only one. The Legislature has passed stronger laws. Last year, a bill banned those under a permanent restraining order from owning guns. Best of all, there is a 26-week course for accused batterers that has a success rate of 93 percent. More than nine of 10 who completed the program's first year have not repeated their crime. "This problem is fixable," asserts William Rousseau, a Tampa police sergeant who coordinates domestic violence policy. Yet this is no help to Gwendolyn Faye Lucas. Ricky Vann was charged with misdemeanors time after time. He got probation, time after time. Susan Fox, president of the Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers, is horrified by Lucas' murder. She is pulling together a variety of advocates to ask for a review. "How could a fifth-time offender be released on $1,000 bail?" Fox asked. Meanwhile, Vann had an outstanding warrant for his arrest: "How hard were they looking for him?" The trouble is, victims of domestic violence are notoriously uncooperative. They often turn on the very police officers there to help them. They recant their testimony. They are co-dependent, trapped in the cycle. Rousseau said one important thing we can do is expand our training of police, prosecutors and judges to deal with these uniquely difficult victims. There is a fine art to knowing what kinds of evidence you can gather and use. A generation ago, we didn't think driving while drunk was a big deal. Neither did child abuse receive the emphasis it does today. Today they are considered heinous. Our attitude toward domestic violence lags behind. Although some disagree, Rousseau said he supports a mandatory jail term for repeat offenses, even misdemeanors. A controversial suggestion comes in the November issue of the Florida Bar Journal. Author Marjorie Conner Makar argues that Florida should follow California and other states and require doctors to report suspected domestic violence. However, some critics believe this would only discourage some victims from getting medical care. This is the season when legislators make news by proposing various bills for the upcoming session. If any of them is still looking for something to do, surely this is a worthwhile topic.
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wendolyn Faye Lucas had a feeling she might be murdered. After all, she already had been battered five times. She had a black eye, stitches and a cast. She warned her neighbors to look out for her. She got a restraining order.
