COMMENTARY

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ON THE MARK... Domestic Violence Registry
Commentary 
By Mark Hallburn
Publisher
PutnamLIVE.com

When the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals announced                                              its new Domestic                                    Violence Registry,                                    judges and law                             enforcement officers                            correctly praised its                              potential to save lives.

"It has taken years to                                  reach this point, and                                many people in a                                  number of agencies are                                to be commended,"                                  says Chief Justice                                   Brent D. Benjamin.                                  "This type of                                         collaboration is a hallmark of our Twenty-First Century Court system."

"This Registry is so incredibly important," say Marshall County Sheriff John Gruzinskas. "If there was one thing that you could point your finger at and say that this will save someone’s life, it will be the Registry."

There's only two problems: You can't view the registry. You can't view the registry, and neither can the news media.

Yes, you can go to a local courthouse and find out if a domestic violence order was issued in your county against someone, but you can't find out if the guy that moved in next door from Berkeley, Marshall, or Wood County has had an order issued against him.

And that's a problem.

Let's say you're asked out on a date. You don't have a way of knowing if Mr. Wonderful beat his ex-girlfriend, or ex-wife. And you can't learn if the cute girl at the bar attacked her ex. Because the registry is only accessible by cops and the courts.

Here in Putnam County, our courts aren't even a part of the document scan system. So while other counties are a part of the registry, we are planning on joining it later.

That's unacceptable.

Knowledge is power. And public documents, including protection orders, are powerful tools that the public has the right to learn about.

It wasn't too long ago that West Virginians didn't have access to the Sex Offender Registry. Despite a law requiring the State Police to publish each lifetime registered offender online, only about half our counties had the information posted.

And that's a bad thing.

Because when someone beats their wife or molests children, they love to hide behind the veil of secrecy.

In 2001, using the power of journalism, I forced the West Virginia State Police to comply with the law they were breaking and update the Sex Offender Registry. Now, everyone can look up the lifetime registered sex offenders living in The Mountain State.

And that's a good thing.

Since PutnamLIVE.com started posting links for each Putnam County lifetime registered sex offender, several have been caught applying for jobs at private schools and churches. I'm told several moved out of the county-which just breaks my heart.

All over Putnam County, readers have been able to find out that a lifetime registered sex offender lives next door. So they've been able to teach their children to stay away from Mr. Pervert.

And that's a great thing!

Now PutnamLIVE.com wants to publish the domestic violence directory so you can see if a person with a history of violence lives next door or across the street. The public has the right to know.

When it comes to domestic violence, some people want to "Sweep it under the rug." Incredibly, Putnam County Sheriff Mark L. Smith has discouraged PutnamLIVE.com from publishing domestic violence arrests. We publish them anyway because, again, the public has the right to know.

The "old school" argument that domestic violence "Is a private matter" doesn't fly here and shouldn't fly anywhere.

Domestic violence cuts across all segments of society from doctors to lawyers, to parks directors, to teachers, to "Joe six-pack." "Sweeping it under the rug" doesn't make domestic violence go away, it makes it easier to hide.

And that's wrong!

PutnamLIVE.com is calling on Chief Justice Benjamin to immediately order the release of the West Virginia Domestic Violence Registry. If he really wants to have a "Twenty-First Century Court system, he will give the public the power to protect ourselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brent
Benjamin