Web posted
Friday, February 22, 2008
Stalking bill gets a hearing
Local officials, residents testify for bill in Topeka
By FOSS FARRAR
Traveler Staff Writer
reporter@arkcity.net
Jodi Sanderholm's father on Thursday testified before the state House Judiciary Committee, supporting a stronger stalking law sponsored by an Arkansas City legislator.
Sanderholm, 19, was abducted, raped and killed by a suspect whom authorities have identified as a stalker. Her body was found Jan. 9, 2007 four days after she went missing.
''I never thought it would happen to me, and now it has and I want something done to keep this horrific act from happening again,'' Brian Sanderholm, Jodi's father, said at Thursday's hearing, according to the Associated Press.
Justin Thurber, then 23, was arrested and charged with kidnapping, raping and murdering Sanderholm. Eleven women testified at a recent Cowley County District Court hearing that Thurber had stalked them or they had witnessed stalking behaviors by him.
Thurber's trial is set for June 24.
Brian Sanderholm, was one of three local people who drove to Topeka to testify, his wife, Cindy Sanderholm said today. Arkansas City Police Chief Sean Wallace and Cowley County Attorney Chris Smith also testified.
The tougher stalking law, informally known as "Jodi's law," is sponsored by state Rep. Kasha Kelley, R-Arkansas City.
Kelley has worked with Wallace for over a year to make changes in the law to make it easier to arrest and prosecute individuals who prey on women and terrify them by stalking, Wallace said.
"The current law has vague language that prevents law enforcement officers and prosecutors from aggressively enforcing the law," he said. "The proposed changes remove that vagueness and give the law more weight and give more power to law enforcement and prosecutors to get dangerous individuals off the street."
Kelley said Wednesday that since Jodi's murder she has interviewed several local law enforcement officers and prosecutors and they all agreed that under the current law successful prosecution of stalking is rare because they have to prove the suspect poses a "credible threat" to the victim.
"The current law is very difficult to enforce because of the vagueness of some of the definitions," she said.
The new law, House Bill 2850, would revise the definition of stalking and delete the words "credible threat."
It defines stalking as "intentionally or recklessly engaging in a course of conduct targeted at a specific person which would cause a reasonable person in the circumstances of the targeted person to fear for such person's safety."
The law also sets out several degrees of stalking with tougher penalties for repeat offenders. A first conviction would be a class A misdemeanor. Second, and subsequent convictions would be felonies.
Cowley County Attorney Chris Smith, who's prosecuting the case, told committee members that the stalking law is flawed because it requires proof of a ''credible threat,'' which can be hard to prove, according to AP.
''Too many times behavior occurs that common sense would say is stalking, but not under the statute,'' he said.
Wallace said that could be something as innocuous as leaving a rose on a person's car seat if the victim is afraid because the giver said a rose meant the recipient would die that day.
Wallace said only 15 stalking cases were filed throughout the state last year because ''when you realize filing won't do any good, you quit filing.''
The bill also would increase the punishment for a first-time conviction from presumed probation to up to a year in the county jail.
"It's very important," Kelley said today of the proposed new bill. "It's a good piece of legislation, a needed piece and certainly a worthy piece of legislation."
Kelley said she hoped the bill would move quickly through the judiciary committee so that it can be presented for debate to the full House -- and later, to the state Senate.
"It's well on its way," she said.
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