Danielle Evans Domestic Violence Essay

Domestic violence is a violent confrontation between family or household members involving physical harm, sexual assault, or fear of physical harm. The presence of domestic violence is staggering one in three women and one in four men have been victims of some form of physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime. In addition, this violence is not a single incident, but multiple incidents of violence over a span of time. For example, Danielle Evans, had to legally change her name and leave Colorado to escape an ex-boyfriend who had nine domestic violence-related convictions in two counties and still continued to stalk her. Every conviction was charged as a misdemeanor or reduced to one in a plea deal, meaning her stalker never …show more content…
She has suffered the interference of her ex-boyfriend by changing jobs and even when she did, he found her and beat her so severely she was sent to the hospital. He didn’t stop there. Her second day there she returned only to find him sitting on her hospital bed. Domestic violence related homicides are a national issue: there are two million injuries and 1,300 deaths as a result of domestic violence. These numbers show there is a fault in our system where we have failed to protect victims of domestic violence. Law enforcement’s duty is to serve and protect the community and domestic violence victims need to know they can contact the authorities without fear. The case of Danielle Evans shows there had been a pattern of domestic violence and the police were aware of the issue, yet her offender only served three months in jail. It is difficult for someone to dial 911 when their offender has previously been arrested and only serve minimal time in confinement. The laws must be harsher for domestic violence because victims are scared to report crimes if the offender won’t face serious …show more content…
Laura Aceves’ ex-boyfriend had a prior history of abusing her. She had been beaten with a baseball bat, dragged behind a car, strangled until she blacked out on the floor and was told how he would kill her if she ever left him. Two days prior to her death, her car broke down from what the mechanic identified as someone who poured bleach in her gas tank. He had been recently released on bail under court order to have no contact with Laura and also to check in with probation by phone each week. She dialed 911 for help and they were unable to find her ex-boyfriend Acuna-Sanchez. Less than 48 hours later she was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head. Her four-month-old son was crying by her side coated in so much blood the EMTs thought he’d been shot too. Domestic violence homicides, such as Laura’s can be clearly foreshadowed by a documented trail of warning signs. In the case of Laura Aceves the offender was out of jail for earlier assault charges against her. The month leading up to her death, he repeatedly broke the conditions of his pretrial release such as the no-contact order. He was released the next day without bail and once out he wasn’t checking in with his probation officer. It is cases such as these where the system has failed on multiple stages and when nobody in any stage notices when issues arise. A person will not pick up the phone and dial 911 if they