Mother of Slain Boy Backs Domestic Violence Bill

The mother of a slain 9-year-old Amherst boy testified before the state Senate Judiciary Committee  on Jan. 14, about the need to change the designation of some crimes to domestic violence crimes.

The bill, SB 318, that some advocates hope to rename “Joshua’s Law,” would allow the creation of “domestic violence” designation on assault and threat charges that involved allegations of criminal activity against family members, like married couples.

Becky Ranes, the mother of Joshua Sayvon, who was shot and killed by his father in Manchester during supervised visitation in 2013, said the bill would not have saved her son but it would help others, like herself, who were the victims of domestic violence, by recognizing victims of “this silent crime” earlier. She said she never recognized the signs of domestic violence in her own relationship with Joshua’s father, Muni Sayvon, who killed himself after killing their son. The change in the law, Ranes said, would assist others in getting services and protections earlier in the process.

“I want to honor Joshua by helping improve lives that will help other families exposed to domestic violence,” she said. “No other parent should endure losing a child this way.”

The sponsored of the bill, state Sen. Donna Soucy, D-Manchester, who also sits on the committee, said the changes would bring the crime of domestic violence under one umbrella. She said it would bring about “greater due process” and “improve accuracy, reliability, and consistency in record keeping.” Soucy said it would not change any crime or sentencing, just the designation of the crimes themselves.

State Sen. David Boutin, R-Hooksett, said he abhorred domestic violence but thought the legislation should be brought more in line with federal domestic violence legislation which includes stalking and economic violence.

Commissioner Earl Sweeney of the Department of Safety called it a “very important bill” and noted that the majority of murders that occurred in New Hampshire were a result of domestic violence situations. He said that while society had become more violent, there has also been “remarkable evolution” on the issue, which was, “a good thing,” he said.

“The bill is needed … it’s long overdue,” Sweeney said.

David Goldstein, the chief of police in Franklin, who had investigated more than 100 homicides in the state as a part of the state police’s major crimes unit, agreed, saying that domestic violence murders were happening more and more, with all kinds of weapons.

“This can’t happen any longer and this bill will help forestall that,” he said.

Also speaking in favor of the bill was Ann Rice, the assistant Attorney General who noted that more than 90 percent of the murder-suicides in the state were domestic violence related. She said the change would give law enforcement “a better opportunity to intervene” and would also assist with matching statistics in the state with federal statistics.

Amanda Grady Sexton of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, a group of 14 programs that assist 16,000 victims of abuse in the state each year said currently, domestic violence crimes were hard to follow and while the state had always been ahead of the curve when dealing with the crimes, it was falling behind.

“Domestic violence is one of the most chronically under-reported crimes,” she said. “In addition, we know that domestic violence is one of the most lethal in this state … This is a tool that we need to distinguish crimes of domestic violence from crimes against non-intimate partners and non-family members."

The lone person to speak against the bill was former U.S. Senate and Concord mayoral candidate Christopher Booth who said that the change would do nothing to prevent domestic violence crimes.

“I don’t see any definition of ‘deadly weapon’ in the bill, which is error, because this staple in this paper could be used as a deadly weapon,” he said. “Anything could be used as a deadly weapon.”