CURBING A DEADLY TOLL

Members of a legislative commission studying domestic violence law in
North Carolina thankfully seem poised to recommend stiffer penalties
for those -- usually men -- who commit violent crimes against their
spouses, partners and children. The immediate worry that pops up, at a
time when another state commission warns of overcrowded prisons in the
near future despite three new 1,000-bed institutions in the pipeline,
is whether longer sentences would make it harder for the state to
control overcrowding. Yet it would be foolhardy to address prison
overcrowding by being soft on violent criminals, which these batterers
repeatedly show themselves to be. Domestic violence deaths dropped
last year from 73 in 2002, but still, at least 62 people died at the
hands of supposed loved ones.

Moreover, of the 63 men charged in the 2002 killings, 34 had been in
court before on domestic violence allegations. With the scarcity of
prison space in mind, legislators would do better to lower penalties
for non-violent drug offenders, or expand the use of house arrest and
intensive counseling for criminals whose violations are relatively
minor.

The domestic violence panel is studying such common-sense steps as
letting judges impose harsher sentences for repeat offenders and
anyone who injures a victim. The threat of losing one's liberty for
longer stretches of time should have a deterrent effect on men tempted
to beat up their partners.

While the legislature has yet to attack domestic violence in a
comprehensive way, the panel's work could help remedy that. A sweeping
approach will send the message, enunciated by state Rep. Wilma
Sherrill of Buncombe County, the commission's co-chair, that
legislators are serious about curbing domestic violence.