New Law in Memory of a Domestic Violence Victim

January 1, 2011

A new domestic violence law became effective today, which makes the crime of Attempted Strangulation, a Class B felony in New Hampshire.

Previously a misdemeanor, the new law is now called a Second-Degree Assault and carries a three and a half to seven-year prison sentence plus fines the New Hampshire Union Leader said.

The bill, in memory of Manchester murder victim, Melissa Charbonneau, flew through the New Hampshire House last spring the Union Leader stated. Its support in the House was in part to the testimony of Charbonneau’s parents, John and Clair Cantin.

The Cantins’ daughter Melissa was shot to death in 2009 by her husband Jonathan Charbonneau, the Union Leader reported. Jonathan was found dead inside his Jewett Street house from a self-inflicted gunshot wound following a six-hour standoff with police, the Union Leader stated. Two days earlier Jonathan beat and choked Melissa into unconsciousness.

When Governor John Lynch signed the bill into law last May, the Cantins were by his side. Governor Lynch said, “Attempted strangulation is recognized as a top risk factor for domestic violence homicides,” the Union Leader stated. “We are taking action to strengthen our laws to protect victims, potentially save lives and hold batterers accountable,” Lynch reportedly said at the signing.

Several groups including the Attorney General’s Office, the New Hampshire Chiefs of Police Association, the New Hampshire Trooper’s Association and the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence support the new law, the Union Leader said.

According to the Governor's Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence, an estimated 26 percent of the homicides committed from 1990 to 2008 were a result of domestic violence the Union Leader reported.

The Cantins told the Union Leader that Melissa would be alive today if the new law had been in effect on October 20, 2009.