In a legislative push aimed at bolstering the safety of domestic violence survivors, Tennessee lawmakers are advancing SB 1972, a measure that would mandate the wearing of GPS monitoring devices by certain domestic abuse offenders, as reported by WBIR. The bill, having cleared the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee earlier this month would, upon enactment, empower courts to stipulate no-contact orders and GPS device usage as conditions for offenders' pretrial release, particularly those charged with stalking or violent crimes like assault, kidnapping, or rape.
A tragic impetus for the bill's proposal was the harrowing case involving Marie Varsos and her mother Debbie Sisco in a 2021 murder-suicide by Varsos' husband shortly after his release on bond for a prior strangulation charge, reported WBIR. Supporters of the legislature see it as a crucial step toward preventing similar instances, with Van Wolfe, the executive director of Safe Space, emphasizing the personal connection we all share with potential victims, "The people experiencing domestic violence are our sisters, our mothers, our daughters."
The Tennessee House Committee recently passed the bill unanimously, now colloquially referred to as the Debbie and Marie Domestic Violence Protection Act in memory of the mother and daughter from Middle Tennessee whose death sparks the legislation's urgency, as per details obtained from WKRN. Alex Youn, who lost his mother and sister in the aforementioned case, brought his poignant story to the state legislature asserting, “I tragically lost my mom and sister almost three years ago and one of the ways that I believe that they would still be here today is if there was GPS monitoring for offenders of domestic violence.”
Should the bill become law, survivors of domestic violence might also be afforded peace of mind via an optional app that would alert them when a monitored offender is in proximity, an added layer of security that stands to empower those at risk, as detailed by 3B Media News. The proposed bill carves out a clear path toward broadening protective measures for those who have suffered at the hands of domestic perpetrators, potentially closing a critical gap in the justice system's provision of victim security and offender accountability, this broadening of protective measures hopes to stem the tide of recurrences that too often culminate in tragic outcomes.
