Article: Take strangulation seriously

It is common in domestic violence cases, and too often it is a precursor to murder

August 15, 2010
Jessica Bridges is lucky to be alive. Her ex-boyfriend, Robert Francis Poole, is lucky Oregon is lagging behind other states where strangulation is now a felony offense. Oregon lawmakers should address this shortcoming in the next session.

Poole was arrested Aug. 1 after police went to Bridges' apartment at the urging of her mother, who had received a text message from her daughter pleading for help. Bridges told police Poole had been in her apartment for two months, hiding from police. She also told them he had twice choked her into unconsciousness.

Poole faces three felony charges — two counts of felony fourth-degree assault and one of coercion. He is also accused of strangulation.

Strangulation, however, is a misdemeanor. It was not even a crime in Oregon until 2003.

In 2007, the Legislature considered a bill to make strangulation a felony if it was commited in front of children, if the attacker used, attempted to use or threatened to use a dangerous weapon, if the attack caused physical injury or if the attacker had been previously convicted of assaulting the same victim.

That bill died in committee. Gerry Sea, coordinator for the Council Against Domestic & Sexual Violence, told the Mail Tribune that lawmakers were concerned about the cost of longer prison sentences.

Cost to the public treasury is a legitimate concern. But so is saving lives.

Strangulation can render a victim unconscious in seconds and can kill in less than five minutes without leaving a mark.

Strangulation is common in domestic violence cases. Studies indicate abuse victims who are strangled but survive are more likely eventually to be murdered.

A study of 300 murders in 11 cities published in the Journal of Emergency Medicine found that 43 percent of women murdered in domestic assaults and 45 percent of attempted murder victims had been strangled in the previous year by their male partners.

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence says strangulation is one of the top five risk factors in homicides related to domestic violence. According to the coalition, a domestic-violence victim who has been strangled is nine times more likely to be killed than a victim who has not.

So far, six states have made strangulation a felony. Early indications are that the laws are beginning to work. Arrests and convictions have increased.

Still, more needs to be done.

A report by the San Diego city attorney and an emergency physician concluded that training police officers in how to collect evidence in strangulation cases could lead to more successful prosecutions.

But first, the law needs to recognize that this is serious crime that deserves serious punishment.