Legislation Would Elevate Penalties for Strangling

By Doug Denison, Staff Writer
Dover Post
Posted Mar 18, 2010 @ 09:13 AM

Dover, Del. — A Senate committee released a bill March 17 that would make strangulation a felony, despite objections raised by senators who argued the standard of proof for the new charge would be relatively low.

Senate Majority Leader Sen. Patricia Blevins, D-Elsmere, the bill’s sponsor, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the legislation is necessary to expand protection for victims of domestic violence.

State Police Detective Stephen W. Fausey testified that it can be difficult to charge alleged domestic violence offenders with strangling their victims, since the act generally leaves few visible marks on the body.

Even though it can be difficult for an officer responding to a domestic incident to discern if the alleged victim has been strangled, the detective said training exists to help officers recognize the subtle physical signs of strangulation.

Officers also can administer a detailed questionnaire to the victim that highlights certain descriptions and sensations common to strangulation, such as a feeling of swelling inside the throat, a hoarse voice or coughing.

Two senators on the committee were concerned that evidence for a proposed felony charge could essentially be based on an alleged victim’s verbal account of the incident.

“I know this is to help true victims,” said Sen. Harris B. McDowell III, D-Wilmington North. “We have a responsibility under the constitution to make sure false accusations don’t advance.”

Senate Minority Leader Sen. F. Gary Simpson, R-Milford, agreed with McDowell.

“I bet there’s not a person I this room who couldn’t fake strangulation,” he said. “I just think, without physical proof or medical proof, we’re stretching this.”

Currently, officers try to classify strangling as assault or reckless endangerment, but those allegations can be difficult to prove in court without physical evidence of the act.

Usually, Fausey said, strangling is classified as offensive touching, a misdemeanor charge that can be prosecuted without the need to demonstrate physical harm.

“Very few victims have visible injuries,” he said. “However, there are underlying injuries.”

In addition, Fausey said incidents of strangulation often are a precursor to subsequent domestic killings.

“There’s no accountability for the offenders,” he said. “Being a life-threatening event, there needs to be accountability.”

The bill would make strangulation a Class E felony, which carries a prison sentence of five years. If the strangulation was done with an implement, such as a rope, it would be elevated to a Class D felony and the offender could face up to eight years in prison.