The Sixth Amendment : New Protocol in Cases of Domestic Violence & Stalking

Until now, the standard response for intimate partner violence and stalking from law enforcement has been:

    * Victims are told to report (but action is only taken if you can show evidence of the abuse)
    * Victims are told to go to a shelter
    * Victims are told to get a restraining order (but usually only granted if there is evidence of the abuse)
    * Victims are told to move away (but leaving behind careers, family, and assets)
    * Victims are told to stay with someone else
    * Victims are told stalking is hard to prove and stalking laws are often weak and poorly defined

This response does not help the victim ‘document’ the situations and specifics of her abuse and her abuser. Outside of a police report or restraining order, documentation has still not occurred. In a case of future serious injury, the victim goes missing, or is killed, nothing exists to link her to her story.

Solution: Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit as Historical Abuse Documentation

The E.A.A. has the propensity to document the historical aspects of the abuse and record it to challenge 'hearsay' arguments in a case. By simply following the steps of creating an E.A.A. a victim can provide 'before the event' information that presents the history of her case prior to serious injury, disappearance or death. Click here to read more about how the E.A.A. benefits a victim's case.
 

Problem: Lack of Documentation of Abuser’s Motives, Habits, Risks, History, Weapons, or Location

Abusers, especially those with high lethality risk factors, are those most likely to seriously injure, re-injure, stalk, ignore stay away warnings, child abduct, or kill. These dangerous abusers are not merely low life criminals but can also often be white collar professionals whom from the surface do not look capable of these life-threatening behaviors. Those abusers without former police reports or arrests are likely to lack the documentation of their impending motives behind future acts of violence. His private personal habits are often unknown as is any mental health or other lethality risk factors such as addictions, undiagnosed mental health problems, housed weapons, impulse control problems, prior stalking behavior, or other acts of perpetrated violence.

Solution: Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit as Abusers Profile Documentation

In cases in which no outside documentation exists (no police reports, no shelter visits, no restraining order, no CPS reports), the only historical information about the abuser is often from those closest to him, including the victim.  Partner related assessments of pathological disordered person’s behaviors and motives have been utilized in other settings to help highlight the undiagnosed pathology (see The P-SCAN, Dr. Robert Hare).

Information such as details of how the perpetrator has said he would carry out harming, abducting or killing her can be detailed.  Admissions or comments made to her about other victims the perpetrator has harmed can be listed. Likely hiding places for weapons or evidence can be revealed. Possible alibis that he would make up for his defense (including identification of people who could be the perp’s co-defendants in her harm, abduction or murder).  If the victim has existing scars or active wounds, they can be documented at the time of the E.A.A. creation.

The E.A.A. has the same informational capabilities of providing unknown and unrecognized abuser and stalking risk factors known by the victim.

Problem: No Way to Identify Her Wishes About Her Children’s Placement In Case Their Parent Is a Perpetrator

In high conflict cases, the perpetrator often does not want, and cannot share, custody of their children. Power and control dynamics coupled with pathology is at the core of why they will do anything to not lose custody—including serious injury, abduction or murder.

In cases where the victim goes missing and there is no Last Will and Testament about her desires for the placement of her children and no legal documentation of her abuse by the perpetrator, custody is almost always given to the other parent should she not be present.

Solution: The E.A.A. as a Suggested Custody Placement Tool

The E.A.A. is utilized as a Last Will and Testament during which the victim indicates she is concerned about serious injury, disappearance, or being killed. Naming the perpetrator as the possible suspect will remove the children from his custody during investigation and/or trial. The victim has the ability in the E.A.A. to name where her children should be placed in case of her injury/death and his arrest. This provides a deep sense of comfort that her wishes are made known regarding children’s placement and that she has made efforts to assure they don’t end up in the perpetrators care.

Problem: Abusers Think They Will Get Away With It Because There Is No Documentation So There Is No Deterrent For Their Behavior

Victims who have no documentation of their abuse (through police reports, CPS reports, restraining orders, stalking reports etc.) often have abusers who think that they have future opportunities to abuse because no one knows abuse is occurring. Believing the victim is not likely to report in the future because she has not reported in the past, abusers feel no deterrent for their behavior. The more times an abuser repeats, the higher the risk factors associated with the victim’s serious harm potential. Some abusers believe that even if she did report and he was not arrested, that in the future he will also not be arrested or his battering exposed.

Solution: The EAA as Future Prevention—As The EAA Becomes a Standardized Protocol in Domestic Violence It Teaches Abusers That All Victims Will Get an E.A.A.

We see a future when the E.A.A. becomes a standardized protocol in intimate partner violence and stalking. Not only will victims be readily utilizing the E.A.A. themselves, but first line responders who interact with victims will have as an automatic process, creating an E.A.A. on every victim. Emergency room physicians, paramedics, domestic violence agencies, attorneys and prosecutors, court house personnel, free clinics…anywhere a victim is likely to go. When the E.A.A. becomes standardized as a model of care approach in intimate partner violence, perpetrators will also know that all victims are being offered the E.A.A.

We see a future when the E.A.A. will actually prevent future acts of violence against victims when abusers know evidence is likely to have been legally documented.

Problem: In Court, Testimony of Prior Abuse is Argued as ‘Hearsay’

A long standing hurdle in the cases of domestic violence and stalking where prior evidence does not exist, is the defense’s argument that family/friends allegations of pre-existing abuse is merely ‘hearsay’ and often dismissed as non-credible evidence. Hearsay is an out of court statement "offered for the truth of the matter asserted" and is not subject to cross-examination, typically because the speaker is unavailable.  Such statements are deemed unreliable because of the obvious fact that they can easily be fabricated and can not be tested through cross examination.

The 6th Amendment rights (for the abuser to be able to confront his witnesses) have been a death blow in the past to witness testimony in DV cases in which the victim is missing or dead.

Solution: E.A.A. as Pre-Existing Before The Fact Evidence

After-the-fact testimony on intimate partner violence and stalking is solved with the E.A.A. because it is recorded prior to the fact of testimony. It is prior evidence of pre-existing abuse before the onset of court action. The victim’s pre-recorded abuse testimony, and documented and notarized affidavits, are arguable under seeking admission of the testimony, not merely for the truth of the statement, but for a highly relevant other purpose. Victims often tell others about the abuse or stalking in case she goes missing or is harmed. The legal argument is focused on the effect the abuse had on the victim that impacted her enough to confess fear of death to someone else. Or when victims say “If anything happens to me, please take care for my children’ which offers dynamic impact and is comparable, in some ways, to a dying declaration. Portions of the affidavits of the E.A.A. are a notarized Last Will and Testament, which is a victim’s dying declaration.

Problem, In Court—The Perpetrators Rights to Confront Their Accusers 

The 6^th amendment gives the accused the right to face their accuser and to argue the points of the accuser’s statement. There isn’t a person in the United States that doesn’t know that is their basic right. But what happens with the accuser is missing, in a coma, or dead? 6^th amendment rights have been another legal hurdle for domestic violence victims who are no longer alive to tell what happened to them.

Courtwatch Brevard is an organization that tracks the effectiveness of judicial decisions in domestic violence cases. Below is an example of a 6^th amendment and domestic violence case.

 http://courtwatchbrevard.org/drupal/?q=node/176

Giles v. California, 554 U.S. 353 (2008)

Facts of the Case

When Dwayne Giles was tried in state court for the murder of his ex- girlfriend, he claimed self-defense. Giles stated that he had heard her vow to hurt him and a friend, and that she had previously shot a man and threatened people with knives. The prosecution then introduced evidence of a conversation between Giles' ex-girlfriend and police in which she claimed that he had assaulted her and threatened to kill her. The district court eventually convicted Giles of murder.

On appeal, Giles argued that use of the police conversation violated his Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses against him, namely, his deceased ex- girlfriend.

The California Supreme Court held that Giles had waived this right because he was the cause of his ex-girlfriend's absence. Although this exclusion was justified under common law rules of "forfeiture by wrongdoing", the Supreme Court had greatly constrained the admissibility of such evidence in its 2004 holding in Crawford v. Washington. Crawford essentially wiped out the admissibility of such out-of-court statements unless the testimony could be subject to cross-examination at trial, an option that would be impossible under these circumstances. This case gives the Court an opportunity to expand on its decision in Crawford and to apply it to a situation where the wrongdoing that kept the witness from appearing in court was not motivated by a desire to prevent the witness' testimony.

Question
Are a criminal defendant's rights under the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment violated when the common law "forfeiture by wrongdoing" doctrine is applied to allow out-of-court statements made by a witness, absent due to the defendant's own conduct, into evidence without giving defendant an opportunity to cross-examine the absent witness?

Conclusion
Yes. In a 6-3 decision, the Court held that the forfeiture by wrongdoing exception only applies to situations where the defendant causes the witness' absence with the intention of preventing that witness from testifying at trial. Without this intention, any act by the defendant making the witness unavailable does not waive that defendant's Sixth Amendment right to confront and cross-examine the witness, and therefore any out-of-court statements made by the witness are inadmissible as evidence. Justice Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurring opinion stressing his belief that statements such as those made by the witness in this case should not implicate the Confrontation Clause at all because the police questioning was not a "formalized dialogue." Justice Samuel Alito also wrote a concurring opinion suggesting that the witness' statements, in his view, did not fall within the Confrontation Clause but noting that neither party had made this argument before the Court. Justice David Souter, joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, concurred in all parts of the majority opinion except one section denouncing the dissenting argument. Justice Souter stated that he did not find the dissent as wrongheaded as the majority suggested.

The dissent, written by Justice Stephen Breyer and joined by Justices John Paul Stevens and Anthony Kennedy, argued that a defendant loses his right to confrontation when he makes a witness unavailable due to his own wrongdoing, even if he did not act with the specific intention of preventing her from testifying at trial. (Used with permission of Courtwatch Brevard)

Solution: Proving Forfeiture with The E.A.A.

A pre-existing videotaped notarized testimony of a victim’s abuse would secure the forfeiture law in her case. The ability to link her disappearance through her testimony and evidence that she leaves behind, prevents the perpetrator from benefiting from her absence and the ability to testify. 

A Victim’s Case Example Where An E.A.A. Was Needed

Vashti Seacat, murdered by law enforcement officer husband

The couple had been married since 2004. During the marriage Vashti Seacat had given birth to a son in 2007 and another in 2009. Child support was ordered to be paid by a judge in the amount of $1,281 beginning on May 15, 2011.

Vashti Seacat had filed for divorce from her husband Brett Seacat just 16 days before a sudden fire on April 30th which caused heavy damage to the family home. Her husband at the time was employed as a police instructor at the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center after a number of years with the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department. In the divorce papers a judge ordered Seacat out of the marital home within 24 hours of being served the papers however, he remained in the home despite the order to vacate.

The boys and their father would escape the blaze without injury but Vashti Seacat was not so lucky. She would not die as the result of the fire, but according to the medical examiner a gunshot wound to the head. The medical examiner was unable to determine whether the wound was self-inflicted because the entry wound was destroyed in the fire. Brett Seacat then easily made claims his soon to be ex-wife was “suicidal.”
Last week in court, after two long days of testimony, the judge decided there was enough to charge the former law enforcement officer with murder. He is being held on $1 million dollars bond and the next court date is schedule for January 6, 2012.

Tragically, this is an all too common with a case ending in murder. Vashti suffered constant abuse including threats to her life at the hands of her estranged husband. Vashti and her fears are now left to “hearsay” statements repeated by friends and relatives in the aftermath of her murder.

What should have happened but did not, was Vashti Secat could have prepared the Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit. She could have done this at the courthouse, therapist's office, or at a remote location to document the abuse. It would then be witnessed by two people and then it would have been notarized before video taping her own words about the abuse in the relationship and her fears of being killed. This would remove "hearsay" and any doubt that she feared for her life.

If you are considering ending a relationship, before you say the words out loud "it's over,” before you go to court and file for a protective order from the courts, and before you see an attorney, prepare the Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit.

With the E.A.A. your words will count and will account for your history of abuse. With the E.A.A. no one can try to claim you killed yourself or if you just happen to go missing, the E.A.A. will serve as your voice and the person responsible for your harm will be arrested.Benefits of The E.A.A.

The E.A.A. provides legal and evidentiary support to the issues of:

    *Historical Documentation for the timeline of her abuse
    *Proof of Stalking
    *Affidavits as Abusers Profile Documentation
    *Suggested Custody Placement
    *Possible Prevention of Future Acts of Violence By Perpetrator
    *Legal Defense Arguments of Hearsay



The new site Document the Abuse.Com contains vital information on how the EAA can support each case of abuse from the perspective of the first responders, prosecutors, family attorneys, victims and advocates, to an appearance in court.  


Susan Murphy Milano is a staff member of the Institute for Relational Harm Reduction and Public Pathology Education as a educator and specialist with intimate partner violence prevention strategies directing prevention for high risk situations and cases.
 A national trainer to law enforcement, training officers, prosecutors, judges, legislators, social service providers, healthcare professionals, victim advocates and the faith based community and author.. In partnership with Management Resources Ltd. of New York addressing prevention and solutions within the community to the workplace. Host of The Susan Murphy Milano Show,"Time'sUp!" . She is a regular contributor to the nationally syndicated "The Roth Show" with Dr Laurie Roth and a co-host onCrime Wire. Online contributions: Forbes : Crime, She Writesproviding commentary about the hottest topics on crime, justice, and law from a woman’s perspective, as well as Time's Up! a blog which searches for solutions (SOS) for victims of crime.

Victimizing Victims and The Sale of an 8-Year Old Child into Human Trafficking

Earlier today while attending a meeting a colleague received a phone call regarding a victim of intimate partner abuse and the sale of her 8-year old daughter by the abusive father along with a "woman broker" he secured because she had a buyer in China for the child.

The mother, currently in an abusive relationship who has other children sought the assistance of law enforcement (who responded it was a family matter, refusing to make an arrest or fill out a police report) and a well known nationally established agency for help. The mother had been beaten and brainwashed by her abuser, if mom told anyone, he would make sure she would be killed or deported and never see any of her children.

She left a crime scene, her own home. Traumatized and in fear for her life and the imminent sale of her child she walked into the organization. The case worker followed "procedure" going down a list of agency and personal contacts.

The case worker made calls to a hotline, it was busy. She continued making calls and allowed the woman to leave her offices so she could pick up her kids and go to work at a mid size national hotel chain. She did provide her with a transportation and grocery voucher and schedule her to return in the morning for a court order of protection. Then, the case worker left to go home.

An hour later, the woman called the agency hysterical. The child broker sent by the father had come to the mothers place of employment for her signature a document that would seal the deal for the sale of an 8-year old child. The mother refused to sign.

Most of the afternoon and this evening I waited for the case worker to call me. My colleague and I continued to speak over the phone. Outraged in what was not happening I wanted an address to go and get the woman and her kids. In an attempt to calm me down, I received this email in the subject matter it said "You started a fire":

Hi Susan: This is the plan for now: at least the order of protection will enable law enforcement to move on this guy if he makes any move to abduct the girl, etc. Apparently, a woman came to the client's place of work, to pick up the child and to have the client sign away her legal rights of the child, so that this woman could sell the child for the husband. The client did not sign the document. Abduction is the next real possibility. Agent also said that whatever is on the pink form from the police department and also in the records of DV can be used to arrest the guy and send him back to Mexico; and meanwhile the client can get a U Visa to stay here in the US based on those DV records.

My question is why hasn't anyone arrested the father? How is that the child has not been taken into protective services by the state? Where is I.C.E., S.L.E.D, or FBI?

You want to know why victims of domestic die? Or why they don't just get up and leave the abuser?

The answers: incompetence and failure by the entire system.

Do you think this woman has a chance at returning back to those offices in the morning? Her husband has all night to plan and take whatever action he deems appropriate.

And the child? By dawn she could be already transported and on her way to the buyer in China.

From the FBI Website:

It's sad but true: here in this country, people are being bought, sold, and smuggled like modern-day slaves.

They are trapped in lives of misery—often beaten, starved, and forced to work as prostitutes or to take grueling jobs as migrant, domestic, restaurant, or factory workers with little or no pay. We’re working hard to stop human trafficking—not only because of the personal and psychological toll it takes on society, but also because it facilitates the illegal movement of immigrants across borders and provides a ready source of income for organized crime groups and even terrorists.

When it comes to human lives, waiting on protocol can get you killed. Finally, I was asked by my colleague what could I do for this woman and her children? My response, what I have always done, whatever it takes, even if it is outside the box.

Susan Murphy Milano is a staff member of the Institute for Relational Harm Reduction and Public Pathology Education as a educator and specialist with intimate partner violence prevention strategies directing prevention for high risk situations and cases.

A national trainer to law enforcement, training officers, prosecutors, judges, legislators, social service providers, healthcare professionals, victim advocates and the faith based community. In partnership with Management Resources Ltd. of New York addressing prevention and solutions within the community to the workplace.

Online contributions: Forbes : Crime, She Writes providing commentary about the hottest topics on crime, justice, and law from a woman’s perspective, as well as Time's Up! a blog which searches for solutions (SOS) for victims of crime.

Radio Shows: Susan is the host of The Susan Murphy Milano Show, "Time's Up!" . She is a regular contributor to the nationally syndicated "The Roth Show" with Dr Laurie Roth and a co-host on Crime Wire.

Books: Time's Up: A Guide on How to Leave and Survive Abusive and Stalking Relationships,Moving out, Moving on, and Defending Out Lives.

www.imaginepublicity.com

Christine Moretz and Intimate Partner Homicide

Christine Moretz, did not stand at a chance against her estranged husband, earlier today he shot her death as she visited a friend in the hospital, inside a medical center in Collier County, Florida.

Back in 2009, there was a documented incident where Jeffery Moretz had fired shots in the home, but no one was injured at that time. And for his reported criminal behavior he received a slap on the wrist. And today after he shot Christine he turned the gun on himself and was taken to another hospital where he is reportedly still alive after attempting suicide.

We always want answers in cases of intimate partner violence and homicide minus it seems without providing safety solutions for victims. I realize not every victim is able to break away or move to a new town or state. But why not give them a fighting chance at survival?

Just think about how many lives could be saved if society dealt with violence in the home as a crime? If tools and techniques were taught on how to be safe? No different then we prepare children on how not to talk to strangers. Or how to deal with an unexpected attacker?

We cannot bring back Christine Moretz, but we can prevent others in intimate violent partnerships that lead to homicide from meeting the same fate. Time's Up!

You want change? Then everyone must be willing to give this issue more then lip service. If you know someone in an abusive relationship, if you are a lawyer practicing in family court, if it is happening to you, a plan of action is your key to safety. The book Time's Up is based on women, like my mom, who were silenced in the prime of their lives. This is your prescription to safety. Below is a sample of the video you need to prepare, if you do nothing else, the abuse affidavit and video will go a long way,if something happens.

Looking back, I don't think my mother ever really believed my father would actually follow through and kill. But he did. Most women that I assist and keep alive, never want to believe the person with whom they enter or in end a relationship could be capable of killing.

Don't take the chance!

Once you are threatened, hit, stalked, questioned in a controlling way, a second chance to save your life, is no longer an option.

I cannot stress enough, if you are in a relationship that has a history of violence, simply mustering up the courage to confront the person and say it is over, without the proper tools, can cost you your life!

One of the major reasons women stay in abusive relationships is fear. They are afraid of what will happen to them and their children if they leave. Sadly, their fears are often justified; statistics show that a woman is at the greatest risk for injury when she announces her plans or leaves an abusive relationship.

The book "Time's Up A Guide on How To Survive and Abusive and Stalking Relationship" is the prescription, if you will, that every person must obtain before they announce they are leaving. Below is an example from Chapter 4, one of many unique tools provided in the book. It is available onAmazon.com, or you can purchase via e-book or on a cd. If you have questions, the email address is: timesupforjustice@gmail.com

Before you decide that you have had enough and are ending the relationship create for yourself the "Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit" and video (shown below).

If you do nothing else, please take one important step that if something does happen to you, if you do vanish like Stacy Peterson, Vensus Stewart, Rachel Anderson, Susan Powell, Lisa Stebic, or are found murdered like Monica Beresford-Redmond, Franki Jacobson, Renee Pagel, Summer Inman,Kelly Rothwell and others where the person responsible has gotten away with murder that your voice and record of the abuse will be captured and recorded. Do it for you friends, family and loved ones. Do it for your children. Do it for you!

Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit by Susan Murphy Milano from the Book "Time's Up" from Courage Network on Vimeo.

Susan Murphy Milano is with the Institute for Relational Harm Reduction and Public Pathology Education. She is an expert on intimate partner violence and homicide crimes. For more information visit http://www.saferelationshipsmagazine.com/

Susan is the author of "Time's Up A Guide on How to Leave and Survive Abusive and Stalking Relationships," available for purchase at the Institute, Amazon.com and wherever books are sold. Susan is the host of The Susan Murphy Milano Show, "Time's Up!" on Here Women Talk http://www.herewomentalk.com/and is a regular contributor to the nationally syndicated The Roth Show with Dr Laurie Roth. Susan is a survivor- the daughter of a police officer family intimate partner homicide by her father who murdered her mother before committing suicide.

Intimate Partner Violence Keeping Victims Alive

"Armed with media smarts and legal savvy, Susan Murphy Milano has launched a one-woman crusade against domestic violence."

By Bryan Miller

"Women come into Domestic Violence Court not knowing anything about what's going on, and a lot of times they leave not knowing anything. . . . They're shuffled through, usually with inadequate representation. The men get off too often, even if they've repeatedly violated an order of protection. And the darker-skinned you are, the more often you're treated unfairly."

Susan Murphy Milano is in a state of high indignation--a condition she experiences with exasperating frequency. Milano is an advocate for battered women. She's not a lawyer or a social worker but sort of a guardian angel: she listens to their stories, tells them what their legal options are, hooks them up with shelters and counseling services, coaches them through media interviews and press conferences. For all of her trouble she receives no pay.

Her most celebrated client is Dawn Wilson, whose story of being beaten and stalked by her ex-husband Christopher has appeared all over the media--the Tribune, the Sun-Times, the Channel Five news, the Channel Seven news, WMAQ radio, Maury Povitch, Jenny Jones, Family Circle magazine. But Milano has helped

dozens of women in the three years she's been doing this; recently she sent train fare to a woman in Seattle who wanted to get away from her abusive husband. And she perseveres even though the dangerous situations her clients are in have sometimes put her at risk.

"Domestic violence is one of this nation's killers, like gangs and drunk drivers," Milano says. "Eight to ten women are killed a day in this country by their partners." Then there's the confusing and unresponsive court system. "And if it's that bad for the ones who do get to

court, can you imagine how many women don't make it into that courthouse? Can you imagine how many don't even have their complaints taken down, because the police officer doesn't know how to write up a stalking report? Debra Burkhart [one of her clients] has been through the system for a whole year; Linda Jones has been through the system for a whole year. Why should they lose a year of their lives to the court system, when they're the victims?"

Phil Murphy was a cop. By all accounts, he was an effective cop. Murphy was a detective with the Chicago Police Department's Area Five Violent Crimes Unit. "He had an extra sense," recalls his daughter. "He and his partner were good at what they did. They didn't work shifts, like most police officers--they worked 4 to 12 all the time. [The Police Department] loved him."

At home they were afraid of him.

Police officers are under a great deal of stress, says Milano, "and he took his problems home. He treated us like he treated the people on the street. I was always afraid when I heard his key turning in the door."

Although Milano and her brother and sister came in for their share of maltreatment, Phil Murphy's favorite victim was his wife, Roberta. His considerable inner rage stoked by his drinking, he bashed her with both words and fists. "He took everything out on my mother. I grew up in an Irish Catholic racist home. He'd tell her, 'I deal with niggers all day long, and you're no better. If I wanted to, I could burn the house down with you and the kids in it and walk away.'"

Sometimes Roberta called the police, but she usually didn't even get to see the responding officers. Phil Murphy would flash his badge, joke with the guys, close the door, and return to battering the object of his disaffection.

After years of verbal and physical abuse, Roberta Murphy equipped herself for an independent life, going back to school and getting a job. In mid-1988 she finally left Phil, encouraged by her daughter. She got an apartment of her own. "Our house was always dark--he did night work, and he slept like Dracula sleeps. He always had heavy curtains over the windows, because of the light and because he was afraid of people shooting at him. The apartment was light. She could finally have the curtains open."

She didn't enjoy the sunshine for long. After she left, Phil, who had suffered a stroke in 1984 and retired on disability, stalked her for six months. "He called her sometimes 20 times a day at the office where she worked," notes Milano. "He constantly accused her of infidelities. He claimed she was a lesbian; he claimed she was having affairs with other officers. If you saw my mother--she looked like the Mama Mia pasta lady, five foot two and round. I mean, you wouldn't look twice. But he always told her, 'If you leave, I'll find you; if I find you, I'll kill you.'"

Evelyn Summers, of the 16th Police District, had been a sergeant for just a month when on January 19, 1989, "We got a call for a supervisor at the 7100 block of Highland at two or three in the morning. They needed a forced entry. Susan Milano was on the scene, but she couldn't get in.

"We had to force the door open; we could see a body lying in the kitchen. It was Susan's mother, with a towel over her face. She was lying on her back. We removed the towel; there was a bullet wound right over one eye. The bedroom door was locked. We found Mr. Murphy there; he had committed suicide.

"The father had been drinking. There was an empty quart bottle of vodka or gin--I think it was gin--in the living room. After he shot her, he probably couldn't face up to what he did, which is why he covered her face with the towel. Then he sat in his room for a while before committing suicide.

"We took Susan to a neighbor and tried to calm her down. For us it was cut-and-dried--a homicide/suicide--but it was a rather depressing incident."

Shortly after Milano attended her parents' funerals, her father's old partner stopped by to see her--but not to offer words of comfort. "He was interrogating me. 'What made you come to the house at such an odd hour? Why were you suspicious? Your mother drove him to this. Poor Phil. Poor Phil. Poor Phil.'"

It's a Friday, and one of her clients--Milano calls them "victims"--is due to testify in court against her abusive boyfriend. Milano is up at 5 AM, starts a pot of coffee, and grabs a quick shower while it's brewing. She knocks back her first cup while reviewing the victim's file--the detailed history of her situation, from as far back as the woman can remember it--and reacquainting herself with the domestic violence statute of the criminal code. She pores over the Trib, the Sun-Times, and USA Today, clipping this, underlining that, before getting dressed and getting her child out of bed.

She tries to get the preschooler fed, but it's a losing battle this early in the morning; a box of juice will have to do. At 6:20 she gets a call from the security agency she works with; they'll pick her client up at 8 and Milano right afterward. She drops her child off at the sitter, who lives nearby, and is picked up herself at 8:30.

Down at Domestic Violence Court, 1340 S. Michigan, the security procedures are on the odd side--briefcases and purses, however voluminous, are allowed in, but backpacks constitute contraband. The photocopied notices of what cases are assigned to what courtrooms appear to be written in code. The entry is cramped by the airport-style X-ray machines and metal detectors, but the stairway to the upper floors stands open and unguarded in front of the battery of machines. At 9:30 on a Friday morning in June, it all resembles a recently disturbed anthill.

The guards know Milano; she's greeted with a smile instead of the ubiquitous public-servant scowl. She and her companions--a petite woman she's assisting as advocate and two large male security officers in conservative dark suits and ties--are waved through security, and the guards turn in their weapons.

At this hour room 201, the courtroom of Judge Francis Gembala, is full, although Milano observes that "Mondays are the busy days--Fridays are pretty light in comparison." Judge Gembala begins the day's proceedings, and the first two couples are no-shows. The third, a swarthy man with a Greek name and a blond woman in a black miniskirt, have a brief consultation at the bench and return to their seats. Next is a small man in a blousy purple shirt who, in spite of all the cautions the judge can give, elects to represent himself in his trial for violating an order of protection. He receives his instructions and saunters out. There is a father-son domestic violence case; they're told to sit down and wait to talk with the state's attorney and public defender, respectively. The next woman has decided to drop the charges against her male companion, and they leave together. The complaining witnesses in the following two cases aren't there; charges are dropped, and the men are free. There's a wait for the next case: the defendant is being held in custody. Eventually, dressed in olive drab prison garb, flashy new sneakers, and handcuffs, he enters the courtroom and mumbles his answers to the judge. But his girlfriend says in a barely audible voice that she wants to drop charges. "These women who drop charges," asserts Milano later, "they'll be back."

Finally the case of Ranardo Gilchrist is called, and Jones and Milano step up to the table. Linda Jones, a trim, pretty woman with a neat ponytail, is conservatively dressed in a navy blouse and skirt and low-heeled shoes. Milano, a grim expression on her face, hovers behind her.

Gilchrist is a strongly built man with a long, curly hairdo and a thick beard. He keeps his hands behind his back and his gaze fixed on an indeterminate point in front of him. According to Jones, he is not so much physically abusive as verbally abusive and prone to "detaining" her--deciding that he doesn't want her to go to work and taking her keys, or removing the battery from her car, or changing the locks on the garage. But this has escalated to death threats against her and her coworkers; he's even put a knife to her throat. "Each little bout is a little bit worse," she says. "I'm sure the Dawn Wilson case started out with the verbal abuse, but kicking and bone breaking is how it ended up." Gilchrist served 30 days in Cook County Jail in October. "It obviously didn't deter him," notes Jones. "Now he's looking at some real time--maybe a couple of years."

There is a stir at the bench; it seems there's a problem. There are three charges outstanding against Gilchrist--violating an order of protection, assault, and criminal damage to property--but only two of them are in his folder. They'll have to find the other one before they can proceed. "Pass," says Gembala, and Gilchrist is taken out. Milano is fuming: that means the case has to be reviewed. They can't do anything until Gilchrist talks with the public defender and Jones talks with the state's attorney. This is the eighth time Gilchrist has violated an order of protection, and Gembala had promised that the next time Gilchrist came before him he'd be put away, period.

We wait some more. A young Latino woman is trying to get an extension of her order of protection. The clerk administers the oath: "Do you solemnly swear . . . ?" She responds, "Yeah." Next up is a short, stocky, nervous blond woman in beachwear. The accused, her ex-fiance ("We never set a date, but we lived together for 12 years"), didn't show up, but she's tearful and fearful. She testifies to a long history of physical and verbal abuse, and the latest: "He beat the shit out of me--'scuse my French--and said he would kill me." She bolts the courtroom before she can collect her order of protection. Milano bolts after her and hands her a business card: "Call me if you have more problems."

Where does Milano get her authority to act as an advocate for these women? "Under the Domestic Violence Act, women are allowed to have an advocate [in court]," she avers. "But I've earned my authority. For some reason, I've never been questioned; I've always been able just to go in and take over a case."

The parade of unhappy women spilling the sordid details of their lives continues. "You can tell, just by looking at them as they come in, how bad off they are," says Milano. She's on familiar terms with the courtroom staff, chatting with them happily during a recess, sharing news. But she's always tensed up; she never seems to relax even in casual conversation. Her gaze never loses its intensity. When the state's attorney summons Jones into a conference room, Milano goes along as a matter of course; bodyguards and reporters are excluded. She disappears twice more for discussions, strategies, and bargaining sessions--and for a bite to eat; Milano is a diabetic, and she can't go too long without a food fix. After a lunch break, the case is continued. (Gilchrist was eventually sentenced to 134 days at the Illinois Department of Corrections, plus one year's probation.) Milano is disgusted, and it shows.

She's dropped off at home at 3:15; she calls the sitter and asks her to keep her child until after dinner, then starts to return the 33 telephone calls that have accumulated in her absence. Milano hits the wires in earnest: She talks to John Corbett, lawyer to Dawn Wilson and several other clients; to the state's attorney's office; to the security agency. She makes several calls on behalf of the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women's Network, an organization of which she's a member; spends better than a half hour being interviewed by a newspaper reporter from Westchester County, New York; returns calls stemming from her appearance on Maury Povitch the week before; talks to a man who wants her to be a consultant on a movie; and sets up an appointment to talk to an abused woman in Du Page County.

When a quiet patch finally turns up in the thicket of calls, Milano makes a quick run to the sitter ("She really supports my work--I couldn't do this without her") and fetches her child for an hour of play and bath. Then it's bedtime, and Milano is back on the telephone--another call on the Du Page case, making plans to meet with other victims over the weekend--until midnight. Still wound up, she settles down to watch a Bette Davis movie until 2:30. She grabs a couple of hours' sleep, and then she's up early again, facing the inconvenient realities of laundry and dishes and making and returning more telephone calls.

Later she confesses, "Friday I was on burnout--I can't catch up sometimes. I don't think I got five hours of sleep all last week. . . . I don't know how long I can keep going like this." Milano knows that she courts exhaustion by keeping this schedule. A vegetarian, she worries about "keeping my health and mind straight" but smokes a pack a day. "I don't relax well," she admits. "I'm a real nervous Nellie." But she shows no signs of slowing down.

Milano was in mergers and acquisitions at a downtown firm before she was galvanized by her parents' deaths. "When my parents died, I never went back to work. I gave it all up. I just dropped out of sight. I did the business for my mother; I wanted her to have financial security, and it didn't mean anything when she died."

Milano gave herself a year to "snap out of the zombielike state I was in." Five weeks pregnant at the time of the deaths, she had horrible dreams about them for months, dreams she felt the pregnancy was magnifying, dreams of seeing her mother and father lying on slabs at the morgue. She couldn't stop thinking about them, her mother in particular.

In that year, she says, she never showed emotion, and she began to lose touch with virtually everyone she knew: "Maybe I didn't want to be reminded of the deaths--or confronted with them. I knew there was something out there for me to do, but I didn't know what it was."

In January of 1990, she decided it was time to do something constructive. She went to the Women & Children First bookstore in Andersonville and read every book they had on domestic violence. She visited battered women's shelters; she met with people in the domestic violence community; she joined the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women's Network, a group that tries to improve the response battered women and children get from the system--i.e., doctors, lawyers, police, the media.

She spent days in court watching and learning. She called attorneys to ask questions about the things she saw, and she didn't worry about whether they were stupid questions. She asked questions of judges. She asked questions of women's service providers. She read about the laws that applied to domestic violence cases. She called reporters and asked them questions.

She learned as she went along what worked and what didn't work: "Mostly, I went by my gut." Although she denies any obsession with the subject, she admits, "I was relentless. I did what I felt was right, and I worked to show the media I wasn't just the flavor of the month." She went on Oprah to talk about her own tragedy, but she also learned to talk about the tragedies of others.

Gradually, Milano--and the reporters, and the women's advocates, and the lawyers, and the judges--came to realize that she was providing a real and needed service. It seems probable, even if she doesn't express it that way, that she was working out her own trauma when she began. But she has long since moved beyond that; the cause of helping abused women has become her calling.

Milano, 34, has long red hair, long red nails, and on this particular day is wearing lots of gold jewelry, a black dress with gold embroidery, and heavy perfume. "I'm not a conventional feminist," she says. But no one can deny her effectiveness in bringing the various issues of domestic violence to public attention. She's direct, she's to the point, and she's got her facts down.

One of her first projects was to get the story of her mother's suffering and murder made public, to force people to realize that abuse of police officers' wives was occurring, virtually unchecked. She sent letters and certified copies of her parents' death certificates ("I was passing out death certificates like they were business cards") to writers, television reporters, and politicians--85 of them in all. The letter was a startling missive: several pages long, idiosyncratically written, and in all caps.

Milano proved to have a knack for getting publicity. A spate of stories about her parents' relationship and their deaths hit the newspapers and airwaves in October 1990. Soon after that she began exercising her skills on behalf of other women, and on behalf of the Battered Women's Network.

Much of Milano's success is based on relationships she's built up with the local news media. "People think that [dealing with] the media is [sending out] a press release, and that's it," observes Milano. "It takes relationships; it takes calling before morning assignments are given out. You don't give 'em everything, so they'll come to the press conference, but in a lot of ways I am like a reporter, packaging and documenting everything. I make it easy on the press." Indeed she does--I received a thick binder full of clips, headed up by the ubiquitous death certificates.

"For many years domestic violence was not a public issue," says Robin George of Channel Five. "Everybody--the media, the police, the courts--treated domestic violence as something less than a crime. We didn't use to cover domestic violence; now we realize that murder in a household is just as much murder as anything else. And Susan has brought it out. . . . She's a real facilitator or promoter, and I mean that in a nice way."

Al Vaughters, a reporter for Channel 32, finds Milano "very trustworthy. That's not always the case. When you're doing news, you always have people who have points of view they advocate. Susan has a point of view, but she's not going overboard to advocate it. . . . I've just found that whenever I need something on a domestic abuse case, I can dial up Susan and get somebody within minutes."

A couple of reporters who deal regularly with issues of domestic violence say they find Milano a little too omnipresent. "I think there are other people out there--but Susan has a real knack of getting publicity, of bringing the issues to the forefront," says one. "Other organizations will respond when asked."

But Vaughters sees Milano's high profile as necessary to the task. "As extensive as the [domestic violence agency] network is, I wish just a fraction of it could be as proactive as [Milano] is. More men need to be answerable for abusing their wives and girlfriends; even in 1993, some men still feel women are their property. We need to end that myth, and Susan is a tireless worker in that area. I don't think she's hogging the limelight. I think it's just that [other potential spokespeople] think they can work quietly behind the scenes to get the job done. And in this day and age of media, the squeaky wheel gets the oil. You have to keep the pressure on. And Susan does."

"Everybody's waiting for the unthinkable; everybody's waiting for the next Connie Chaney to die," says Milano. (Chaney was shot to death March 17, 1992, by her estranged husband, Wayne, while he was out on bail pending trial for raping his wife at gunpoint.) "And Dawn Wilson would in my opinion have been the next one, back in October, if it hadn't been for the media coverage. I think we would have read about her in the paper the next week. But I don't want to read about another death with my coffee in the morning. I want to stop these deaths, and I think I have, because of the media.

"I never would have been where I am without the media. I hope they never go away--because without them, these women are going to die. And I tell them that every time."

Milano got national exposure working on Wilson's case. The numerous stories that appeared in newspapers, magazines, television, and radio detailed how Wilson's ex-husband Christopher beat and stalked her, finally coming terrifyingly close to kicking her to death on June 10, 1991. For that assault he was sentenced to three years, of which he served 15 months. During this time he made threatening telephone calls and sent threatening letters to Wilson from prison, in violation of the still-standing order of protection. Upon his release last October he was immediately taken back into custody, this time for the letters and phone calls. He was finally released this May.

Dawn Wilson has been in hiding since he got out; he's wearing an electronic monitor, but Wilson would prefer to take no chances. She credits the publicity with saving her life; by putting a spotlight on Christopher Wilson, it ensured that he wasn't simply released to stalk her once again. Milano has been at Dawn Wilson's side during the press conferences, talk shows, and interviews, mother-henning her to the point of acting as makeup, hair, and clothing consultant.

"She's been there as support," says Wilson. "That is the key to everything. It's hard when I'm alone, and she knows the background, how it feels. It's hard to explain what it's like to someone without that background. Her being there to support me has made a big difference."

Did Milano manipulate the news media? "Sure, she called the media a lot--she knows how it works. I probably wouldn't have done any interviews without her, and he probably would have been released in October. But it's never, 'You have to, you have to.' I turned down going on Oprah, 'cause I couldn't talk about it anymore. I can only go on TV and say 'He beat me' so many times. And Susan understood.

"I tell her, 'You need to rest.' But she just keeps doing it, doing it, doing it. I think we need more people like her. I think there should be clones of Susan. It's not like she's a counselor--but when you need her, she's there."

Debra Burkhart had already had some press about her suffering at the hands of her abusive ex-boyfriend, Richard Luttrell, when she recently contacted Milano and asked for help. "I felt I wasn't getting through the system by myself. I wish I'd met her when this first started.

"She went to court with me; she explained what was going on, and what I could do; she provided me with protection. She's doing a lot--she's risking her own life helping me and women like me."

Luttrell recently went to court on charges of aggravated stalking. Defined as physically harming or confining a victim or violating an order of protection, aggravated stalking is a felony with a prison term of up to five years and a fine of up to $10,000. Luttrell was convicted but sentenced to just two years' probation plus two years' psychiatric counseling, reports Burkhart with disgust, "because it was a first-time felony. This is different than robbery. Judges don't understand obsession; they don't understand that lives are at stake. And the day after he got out, we started getting hang-up phone calls. They're made from phone booths; you can hear the traffic going by. I can't prove it's him, but it's funny that I didn't get a single one while he was in jail, and the next day after he gets out, I get two. I screen my calls, but it's not a very nice way to live."

"A lot of women come to me for help, but they don't want to go through with what it takes," says Milano. "They think I can run in and save the day, but I can't. I won't help them unless they're willing to fight the system.

"Before I will help them, they have to be ready to step forward. They can't be wishy-washy. I put myself on the line, just as they're out there. I'm not forcing them, I'm not telling them what to do, but they do have to be ready; they do have to make a decision.

"Some of them back out. A lot of them do. I tell them to go to programs; they don't want to go. I'll set things up, I'll arrange for them to go to [Domestic Violence Court] to get an order of protection, and they won't show up. I'll arrange to have them picked up so they can get there, and they won't go. They're afraid."

Perhaps her hardest job is trying to keep a distance between herself and the women she works with, for her own emotional well-being. "These women don't know how to defuse the bomb when he comes home. They don't have anyone to go to. Then they find me, and they want my help. They're so pleased to speak with me, because I understand their problem, I can help them. And they want to build a bond with the person they've spilled their guts to, but I can't have that. It's not what I'm for; it's what the programs are for. If I get emotionally attached in any way, how am I going to help the next person to come along?"

Robert Egan, deputy chief of special prosecutions for the Cook County state's attorney's office, says domestic violence is an area with a lot of potential for burnout among attorneys. He's worked with Milano several times, most notably on Wilson's case.

"Susan is certainly very dedicated to what she does, and very conscientious, for very little if any reward. She's a very easy person to deal with, and very eloquent in putting forth her side of the story. She doesn't scream or make demands--she's very rational. At the same time, she's very loyal to her client."

Susan Raef of the American Medical Association met Milano while working on a book on how to help victims of domestic violence; Milano read the first draft and helped her find some of her sources. "I've always admired people who aren't afraid to stand up for what they believe in. Susan is very forthright; she sticks to the issues. She has got a laser focus on what's important--the safety of women, and lifting the veil of silence.

"I think that the reason . . . she's so successful . . . is that she identifies with these women. They know she understands, and is in a position to offer a ray of hope. Other people can sympathize--Susan can empathize."

"There's such a genuineness about what she's doing," says June Brown, a former staff attorney with Pro Bono Advocates, where the caseload is almost all domestic violence work. "She takes chances--she's not task-oriented, she's goal-oriented. She moves through the system and gets things done. Nothing is ever routine with Susan; she's always as concerned as if it's the first person she's ever worked with."

"She has the ability to get people's attention," says John Corbett. "I think that a lot of people in the state's attorney's office and a lot of the judges know who she is and listen to what she has to say. That's helped many a victim. It's too bad it takes all this to get justice done, but if that's the system we have to live with, that's the system we have to live with."

"My first impression of Susan was that she was very interested in trying to ensure that what happened to her mother never happened to anyone else again--that she was trying to make sure attention was brought to the issue," says Leslie Landis. Landis is executive director of Life Span, an agency that provides counseling and legal services for battered women, and a founding member of the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women's Network. "At first, she wasn't sure how to go about doing that; she was very enthusiastic, to be tactful about it--but when she first came in, she hadn't fully dealt with her personal tragedy. With time, she's come to see beyond it to the broader issue."

Landis has known Milano since she first came on the scene. "Susan really goes into things in a very zealous kind of way. Once she becomes an advocate [for someone], she stays with her from beginning to end."

Karin Mills, program services coordinator for the Constance Morris House, a shelter for abused women, says Milano was "very impatient--she wanted to come in and change everything. She had a different approach, because of her business background. . . . At first, I thought, "Who is this woman?'--but she's just very committed. She has a vision, and pretty early on I began to trust that."

Jeri Linas, executive director of the shelter and job-counseling service Rainbow House and another founder of the Battered Women's Network, admires Milano's ability to elicit donations--of everything from microwave ovens for women's shelters to Whoopi Goldberg's autograph for a benefit auction. "But her most valuable work is with the media. I see a total turnaround in attitude in the three years she's been involved. I see a change in the way the media report family violence now--I've never in ten years seen the kind of attention they're paying, whether it's a special case or a protest march.

"Up until four or five years ago, domestic violence was treated with an attitude of 'domestic squabble,' 'lovers' triangle,' 'lovers' spat,'" notes Linas. "Now they call it for what it is: violence against women. It's newsworthy, where in the past I got the impression that it wasn't newsworthy. And a lot of that is because Susan knows how to manipulate the press in a very effective way."

Milano came up out of nowhere to assume a very high profile, and while there isn't exactly resentment of her among the agency professionals she deals with, most of whom labor in obscurity, there's at least a cultural clash. "She's very good, very productive--and very independent," says Landis. "When she wants to do something, she wants to do it right away. When you work in an agency, you have to worry about policies and procedures. Susan's a free agent, so she's moved ahead faster on some issues."

"If there is resentment, [the resenters] are in sad shape," adds Linas, who agrees that Milano's lone-gunslinger style is better suited to working outside the bounds of the conventional agencies. "Where's their focus? If the focus is to provide service to women and children, they have no business resenting her. . . . If they're jealous, there's no vision there."

International Service Associates is a security agency, licensed and active in 16 states, that until very recently served only as a contractor for the federal government. The sole exception to the rule: a few months ago ISA started providing bodyguards--free of charge--for Milano and the women she works with.

Sam Rovetuso is the business agent for ISA, and his manner is flat, clipped, and just-the-facts-ma'am. "Dolores Juarez Hendrix, the president and CEO of ISA, had seen a number of items in the news on Dawn Wilson. Miss Hendrix instructed me to locate Miss Milano, and offer her our services on a pro bono basis for the women Miss Milano is working with.

"This is the only case ISA [is handling] outside the scope of the federal government. The overall situation of the stalking matter seems to have escalated without anyone offering any aid. We think, looking over some cases, that security was called for."

Security services are expensive; this is quite a donation. "Miss Hendrix is very serious about it. We could not say enough about the value of Miss Milano. We will provide everything we can for Miss Milano and the women she's working with, including protection for herself. It isn't only stalking victims who have a problem--someone like Miss Milano, who puts herself in the line of fire, could be endangered by stalkers. She does not charge the women she helps, and we are not charging her."

Rovetuso declines to say how many officers they provide, or for what kind of coverage: "We will provide adequate security.

"Frankly, we think this type of matter needs more public attention; it could help save the life of someone who is being stalked. Women seem to be at the bottom of some totem poles in some cases."

It's after ten at night; the Bulls have just won the championship, and the car horns being honked outside Milano's windows are loud even over the phone. She sounds tired, but she's still wound up. Christopher Wilson's parole officer has been giving Dawn a hard time, she says, "riding her--'Are you sure he's the father?' 'Don't you think Christopher has suffered enough?' 'You were sighted at a store the other day,'--and Dawn told her, 'I have to live!'" Milano is worried that the electronic bracelet isn't enough to keep Christopher where he belongs. The bracelets, it's turning out, are pretty easy to evade, "and with everything on TV and in the papers about the damned bracelets, it's like they're saying, 'Do it! Do it! Do it!' And nobody, nobody, thinks about how Dawn's supposed to live."

It seems that no one thinks about how Susan is supposed to live, either. Being a full-time, unpaid advocate has been hard financially, particularly since Milano, who is separated from her husband, has a child to support. When we first met, in late February, she said rather wistfully, "I'm all on my own. I get paid by writing speeches, doing fund-raising, consulting, writing articles. It's pretty hand-to-mouth. . . . I keep waiting for someone to come and say, 'We'll hire you.'" But none of the agencies seemed interested.

So recently Milano started her own pair of agencies: On Our Own handles the legal aspects--getting orders of protection, helping with divorces--and helps find emergency housing for domestic violence victims, particularly black women, in the neighborhood around Domestic Violence Court; Hear Our Cries is directed toward advocacy, protection services, and public awareness.

Milano, of course, will handle Hear Our Cries. June Brown has come to On Our Own to take care of the legal end, while Linda Jones manages the shelter and related services. (Both agencies can be reached at 435-1007 or 435-1008.)

And Milano is bubbling with ideas that seem, given her success and her growing profile, to be increasingly doable. "We're going to get information about how to get help [for abused women] into doctors' offices and laundromats and stores--like the tear-off sheets you see on buses. They advertise abortions and credit cards that way; why not protection?"

She wants to change the procedures at Domestic Violence Court so that defendants are automatically fingerprinted when they come in. "A lot of these guys are using aliases, or they've got long records, or they're wanted for something else." She wants the state's attorney to provide more lawyers, to provide more help and explanation to the women who come in, often bruised and almost always bewildered.

She's looking for both new laws concerning domestic violence and better enforcement of those currently on the books. For starters, she'd like to see convicted stalkers treated the same way other convicted felons are. If a felon who's committed, say, armed robbery violates his parole, he's returned to the slammer with his "good time" revoked and more time added to his sentence for good measure. And it's a lot easier to get a repeat offender put away--even if his probation's expired--than it is a first-timer.

"But if it's a violation of an order of protection, the mechanism isn't in place for the judge to send him back to the joint. Take the case of Debra Burkhart--if Richard Luttrell gets through his probation and starts [stalking her] again the next day, she'll have to start all over--and it'll be another year from her life. The law isn't in place for people who know each other; I want to see the law extended to cover all crimes. There are also laws which could be used in domestic violence cases but aren't. Home invasion is a Class Four felony, but the state's attorneys don't use it in cases of domestic violence, although they could."

Can she turn the system around? "I think I have already--but only when I'm standing there. Right now it takes me walking into a courtroom to make some of these [judges and attorneys] do the right thing. But, yeah, I think I can turn it around. Within two years, I hope to turn this whole thing on its butt."

After all, she observes, it's not so long ago that drunk driving was treated essentially as a prank despite the tragedies it caused. But "domestic violence is still looked at as a joke. If he violates an order of protection, why does she have to go through so much? If he's violated it, he should go to jail--and that's that. It's not happening now, it's not happening nearly enough. But I think it's going to happen."

Milano has developed the same access to politicians as she has to news media, and she thinks that will help in raising courtroom consciousness. She likes Cook County state's attorney Jack O'Malley, who returns calls promptly and sees that things are taken care of. She thinks O'Malley's Du Page County counterpart, Jack Ryan, desperately needs to take some lessons from him. And, she says, Illinois attorney general Roland Burris "needs to understand the issues a little better."

Has she given any thought to going into politics herself? "No. . . . I have no desire to run for office. Besides, I am a politician now, if that's the way you want to look at it--working as an advocate, holding public office for women's lives. I'm doing more right now than any regular politician can do."

Does she have a burnout problem, encountering domestic tragedies and legal travesties on a daily basis? "I have lived these women's lives for two years, day in and day out--and that is a lot. And the problem will always be there. I'm not experiencing burnout, but I've gotten so wrapped up in these women's lives, and I would make myself sick over it when things didn't go right. I'm so wrapped up in this; I don't get to vent, I don't get to talk about anything but this. It's like I'm married to this.

"I gave myself five years to change the way this problem is perceived. I'm going to change the way everybody sees this stuff. The victim has so few rights. They make these women jump through hoops. He's the one who's committing a crime--and she's the one who has to prove her endangerment 24 hours a day. A marriage license is not a lifetime title of ownership, and it's past time that every segment of our society understood that."

Link to original story: http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/life-saver/Content?oid=882558

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If you read through the story, note that it originally ran on August 12, 1993. My work to protect victims and change the way society viewed violence began publicly in 1990. The media's role became my partner in saving lives.

Now, more than 20 years later the prescription in saving lives is in the book "Time's Up: A Guide on How to Leave and Survive Abusive and Stalking Relationships" Women are alive today, those whom I have assisted have moved on to lead successful productive lives. In this book is also the Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit and video document instruction along with how to be ten steps ahead of the abuse and leave with your life.

If you are in an abusive relationship or know someone who is, please give them this book. As I have often said, I could not save my mother, but I have and can save others living their lives in fear, waiting and praying for a solution that actually will save their life. Time's Up is the prescription! And please watch the video below.

Numerous cases, such as missing mother Susan Powell of Utah, Kelly Rothwell of Florida, and women like Stacy Peterson, where the victim’s police officer husband is the person of interest, is the classic example of the benefits of this type of evidence. If Stacy Peterson, or any woman found murdered or is missing, had done an Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit, ON TAPE, from following the information in the “Time’s Up" book on a flash drive, they would be able to describe:

- threats made against her life or wellbeing, including details of how the perpetrator would carry out the threat

- incidents of past abuse that the victim has endured

- admissions or comments made to her about other victims or people abused

- where evidence or weapons would or could be located

- possible alibis that the perpetrator would make up in his defense (including identification of people who could be co-defendant’s or co-suspects)

- portray visible injuries or marks

If you are in a relationship that has a history of violence, simply mustering up the courage to confront the person and say it is over, without the proper tools, can cost you, your life!



The book "Time's Up A Guide on How To Survive and Abusive and Stalking Relationship" is the prescription that every person must obtain before they announce they are leaving. Below is an example from Chapter 4, one of many unique tools provided in the book. It is available onAmazon.com, or you can purchase via e-book or on a CD. If you have questions, the email address is: timesupforjustice@gmail.com

Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit by Susan Murphy Milano from the Book "Time's Up" from Courage Network on Vimeo.

Susan Murphy Milano is with the Institute for Relational Harm Reduction and Public Pathology Education. She is an expert on intimate partner violence and homicide crimes. For more information visithttp://www.saferelationshipsmagazine.com/ She is the author of "Time's Up A Guide on How to Leave and Survive Abusive and Stalking Relationships," available for purchase at the Institute, Amazon.com and wherever books are sold. Susan is the host of The Susan Murphy Milano Show, "Time's Up!" on Here Women Talk http://www.herewomentalk.com/ and is a regular contributor to the nationally syndicated The Roth Show with Dr. Laurie Roth http://www.therothshow.com/ ]