Bill Would Create Domestic Offender Registry

Robin’s Law sponsor Senator Lisa Boscola; the state capitol | Shutterstock.com

A bill in the Pennsylvania Senate would create a “domestic predator registry” to track ex-convicts convicted of domestic violence offenses.

The bill would mandate lifetime parole for such offenders, and require they attend monthly therapy sessions for the duration of that parole.

“Combating domestic violence is a difficult issue because some individuals continue to commit acts of violence against their current or former partners, or family members, even after they have spent time in prison for a prior domestic violence offense,” the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Northhampton/Lehigh, said in a memo to colleagues. “We must identify these persistently dangerous perpetrators and protect our residents from them, just as we protect our citizens from sex offenders.”

The bill has co-sponsorship from several Philadelphia-area Democratic senators, including Senators Art Haywood, Vincent Hughes and Larry Farnese. It was referred Friday to the Senate Judiciary Committee; a spokesman for the committee’s Republican chairman, Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, did not immediately offer comment about whether the bill had a chance of advancing out of committee.

A spokesman for the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence said the organization had not seen the bill and could not comment.

There have been several attempts in recent years, nationwide, to establish state domestic violence registries — including in New Jersey, New York, Virginia and Texas — but none has apparently succeeded. Some of those had “three strikes” provisions, designating an offender for the list only after repeat offenses.

Under Boscola’s bill, a person convicted of domestic violence would — prior to their release from state or county detention — go before a state board to determine whether he or she could be designated a “domestic violence predator.” The board would be required to presume that an offender deserves the designation; its recommendation would go back to the original sentencing court, which would hear arguments from prosecutors and the defendant before making a final designation.

Persons who received the designation would be required to register with Pennsylvania State Police and keep that agency apprised of address changes. (See the bill below.)

The bill is called “Robin’s Law.” Boscola said in her sponsorship memo the bill is named for Robin Shaffer, a Quakertown woman who was murdered by her husband.

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