RADAR ALERT:
Boston Herald Fans Domestic Violence Hysteria

In an article entitled "Domestic violence at point of 'crisis'" last week (see below), the Boston Herald quoted Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett claiming that "domestic violence is murder waiting to happen" and demanding the Mass. Legislature "enact an emergency bill that would potentially double jail time for serial batterers before they maim or kill."

D.A. Blodgett clearly wants the terms "domestic violence" and "serial batterer" to conjure up a mental image of a menacing brute who beats women just because he can. But all across the nation, "domestic violence" has been defined down to the point where simply raising one's voice makes the accused a "batterer". RADAR has documented how the systems in place act as perverse incentives to induce women to make false accusations. (http://www.mediaradar.org/docs/RADARreport-Perverse-Incentives.pdf) And Elaine Epstein, former president of the Massachusetts Women's Bar Association, has warned that "Everyone knows that restraining orders and orders to vacate are granted to virtually all who apply."

So, when Blodgett says "serial batterer" he's just as likely to be talking about the innocent husband or boyfriend of a vindictive woman as the slavering beast he wants you to imagine.

As the nation learned from Mike Nifong, innocence is no defense when the D.A. needs to grandstand in order to win an election. And unfortunately for the innocent, most of the Nifongs out there aren't dumb enough to get caught.

Please call the Boston Herald and ask them to run a followup article to correct the unbalanced and inaccurate portrayal of domestic violence created by the Herald's publication of this article. The followup should highlight the facts that:

• false allegations of domestic violence are now rampant,
• men are just as likely to be victims of their wives' or girlfriends' violence,
• victimized men are routinely turned away when they seek help from domestic violence service providers

The Boston Herald's editor, Kevin Convey, can be reached at 617-619-6403. The Herald's comment line is: 617-619-6789. As always, state your opinion in a polite and courteous manner.

Boston Herald
Monday, December 3, 2007
Original URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1048411

Domestic violence at point of 'crisis'
By Laurel J. Sweet

Calling it "a crisis" on a "record pace," authorities project that by New Year's Eve 57 people will have died this year in Massachusetts because of domestic violence - a toll not seen in 15 years.

"It's alarming, it's unacceptable and it's a crisis," said Toni K. Troop, spokeswoman for Jane Doe Inc., the Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence.

The news comes as Essex District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett, for a fourth straight year, pleads with the state Legislature to enact an emergency bill that would potentially double jail time for serial batterers before they maim or kill.

"Domestic violence is murder waiting to happen," Blodgett said.

Sheila Sicard, whose daughter Ronda Healy was slain Tuesday allegedly by an ex-beau she'd split with nine years earlier, is sick of it.

"I don't think (politicians) do enough," Sicard said. "Let mothers come up (to the State House) and speak. Let them hear our cries."

When Healy, 28, a waitress and mother of three, was stabbed to death as she left her job in Millbury, she became the 38th victim of domestic homicide in 2007. An additional 12 perpetrators have committed suicide, elevating to 50 the total number of deaths attributed to domestic violence, Troop said.

The last time Massachusetts came close to a tragedy of that proportion was in 1992, when there were 60 murder and suicide deaths. Since then, year-end totals have fluctuated between 14 and 39.

In addition, Troop said 15 minors have been orphaned in the past year. Ten more youths have lost their mothers, including Norton teens Brittany and Danielle Cann, who both survived being shot in the head by their mother's ex-boyfriend. Robert McDermott murdered Elizabeth Cann, 44, and the family dog, then killed himself.

The day before Healy died, 60-year-old Esther Ventola of Milford was stabbed to death, allegedly by her husband.

Only days before her death, Christine McGee, 31, was fatally stabbed in Chelmsford in front of her 3-year-old son, allegedly by her estranged husband.

Currently, unless a prosecutor can prove a domestic-abuse victim has suffered serious bodily injury, the longest the law can hope to put a batterer away is 2years in a house of correction.

Blodgett's legislation would enable prosecutors to indict serial abusers - who cops call "frequent flyers" - with the threat of a state prison stint up to five years.

Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley applauded Blodgett's tenacity, saying, "What we see in these horrible, vicious, violent attacks is frightening. It's a very stark reminder more needs to be done."

Blodgett testified last week on Beacon Hill that the state is on a "record pace" toward one domestic murder per week.

"We have so many batterers who are serial batterers," Blodgett told the Herald. "They have multiple victims, they groom their victims, they move from county to county, state to state. They've been through anger management, they've been through batterers' programs and they move on to their next victim."

As for why the startling spike in domestic homicides, Blodgett said, "My gut feeling is we've got a lot of angry people out there who won't hesitate to use violence to get what they want."

Troop points to ever-dwindling funding for programs and resources.

"It sounds simplistic," she said, "but funding is what allows us to have programs and adequate staff to help those who are making that very difficult journey from violence to safety in their lives. We need to re-invest. We can't deny these numbers and turn our backs on victims."

Date of RADAR Release: December 12, 2007

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R.A.D.A.R. – Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting – is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence. http://mediaradar.org