PUBLIC HEARING, MORE NEWS ON JENNIFERS' LAW

 

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Jennifers' Law Dear friends, We have a very BIG development to report from Jennifer's home state of Connecticut. A new law in Jennifer Magnano's name, (and that of Jennifer Dulos, who was murdered by her estranged husband in 2019) has been introduced by state senator Alex Kasser, (D-Greenwich) in the Connecticut General Assembly. Jennifers' Law aims to expand the definition of domestic violence to include coercive control, the full range of tactics that abusers use to entrap and control their victims, beyond just physical abuse. Coercive control is a patterned behavior that includes nonphysical abuse such as emotional, verbal, financial and legal abuse as well as stalking, harassment, gaslighting, humiliation, cruelty and intimidation. Elements that are always present in domestic abuse. To date, California, Hawaii, Scotland, England and Wales have passed Coercive Control Laws. Australia, Colorado, Maryland and New York have introduced legislation this 2021 session. Jennifer's Law is supported by Mom's Demand and Connecticut Protective Moms The public hearing on Jennifers' Law will take place this week, Wednesday, March 24, starting at 10am. You can watch it live on YouTube Live, or recorded on CT-N. Jennifers' Law is a monumental step towards making domestic violence law reflect the actual reality of what women and children experience at the hands of abusers, and the hope is that this new law will lead to earlier intervention - which we know saves lives. I will testify, as will our EP and world leading expert Laura Richards , attorney Michelle Cruz who did the original investigation into Jennifer's murder, and also Jennifer's children Jessica and David. Our film Jennifer, 42 delves deep into this abuser behavior, as well as the catastrophic results when the courts fail to recognize the danger the victims are in. Laura Richards estimates that about 80% of domestic violence homicides happen in the first six months after leaving. Looking at Scott Magnano's coercively controlling behavior pre-separation, and his stalking behavior post-separation, and the lengths he would go to get Jennifer back within his control, is a powerful example of the close correlation between coercive control and homicide.  Tune in on Wednesday, and if you want to support reform of domestic violence laws in the US, please sign this petition and learn more about this issue and our campaigns: https://www.change.org/p/domestic-violence-law-reform-coercive-control-usa

ABOUT THE FILM Jennifer, 42 is an animated true crime documentary about an American family's epic battle to escape domestic violence. Director Elle Kamihira, Producer Katie Hyde, Animation Director Yulia Ruditskaya and Executive Producer Laura Richards.