Quote:
Originally Posted by Cynthetiq
The common sense thing here is to make domestic abuse crimes a felony. It's a felony to assault a bus driver, flight attendant and a few other protected classes, why not include spouse or domestic partner?
|
As personally disgusting and socially abhorrent as domestic abuse is... consider the possible side effects that come from upgrading all sorts of social problem crimes to felony status. It's similar to the "sex offender" label you can get for public urination in some states. Overkill, creating more problems than it solves by focusing on the short term gratification instead of the long view consequences. Example: Crack cocaine prison sentence issues, late '80s.
A felony pretty much destroys your life for a long period of time, if not indefinitely. I've seen what it does to people. They're 3rd class citizens.
I don't know if there is a good answer, but putting more wife-beating drunkards behind bars and labeling them so that when they do get out they have a real hard time returning to any semblance of a normal life isn't a real good long term solution.
I have a close friend that was out of control at one point in his life and engaged in a domestic violence situation with his girlfriend. He's since cleaned up his act. If he had been given a felony, there is no way he would have recovered and become the productive citizen that he is today.
People make mistakes. It's easy to assume once-a-beater-always-a-beater, but that holier-than-thou approach doesn't solve anything.