AUGUSTA, ME — Those who commit murder in an act of domestic violence could face stiffer penalties under a bill by Sen. Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, which received unanimous support in the Maine Senate on Thursday, May 11, 2017.
With bipartisan support in the Senate, the bill faces the House of Representatives for an initial vote.
When a judge sentences a murderer, current law requires that the murderer be handed a sentence of life imprisonment or at least 25 years in jail. The judge is instructed to give “special weight” in sentencing to murderers convicted of killing a child under 6 years old or a pregnant woman.
Jackson’s bill, LD 449, to be known as “Amy’s Law,” would add domestic violence as another aggravating factor for which a judge must add “special weight” in determining the length of sentence.
“I thank my fellow senators for joining me in ensuring that when domestic violence escalates to murder, judges must ensure the punishment fits the crime,” Jackson said. “Domestic violence is an assault on the safety and security of family, and we must stand firm in support of victims and of justice.”
Jackson submitted the bill on behalf of a constituent, Barbara Theriault of St. Francis, whose daughter, Amy Theriault, was shot and stabbed to death by her longtime boyfriend in 2014.
“I will never be free from this horrendous crime. I live it every day,” Theriault said during the public hearing. “Amy is gone. Her children are motherless. And we have to contend that this monster has the possibility of being free to terrorize our family again. This is what has lead us to fight for justice.”
LD 441 faces an initial vote in the House and final enactment in the Senate.
