Amy

Dear Representative,                                      April 30, 2021

364 days in jail, all suspended. 2 years’ probation, which can be shortened upon completion of the 48 – week Batterer’s Intervention Course, which costs the convicted $35 per session. $20 to the Victim Compensation Fund. Domestic Violence Court once a month. No contact with victim(s). No firearms for 5 years in Maine, forever Federally. No alcohol or illegal drugs during probation, subject to random checks.

My name is Amy Burns. My case has recently been featured both in the Portland Press Herald/Bangor Daily News and on local news channels as well. The above references the sentence given to my ex-husband, Justin Cooley. 

During the entire year that the abuse was happening, Justin was serving as a Maine State Trooper. There were many issues pursuant to the case, as you will be aware if you have read the articles. However, there is a much broader reason for my letter.

The sentence Justin was given is the highest, most punitive that the courts in the state of Maine are now able to give for first offences. I am brought to tears when I think about the number of victims (survivors) who have been in the same seat that I was in, hoping for some sort of true justice, only to find out that, after their abusers complete these meager sentences, they will be able to continue their lives as if this has never happened, while the survivors are left to suffer the extreme mental, emotional, and physical effects for many more years. In many cases, forever.  

In the state of Maine, crimes in categories D and E are misdemeanors. Domestic violence is a D offense. The theft of property or services valued at more than $1,000 but less than $10,000 is a class C crime. The punishment for a class C crime can include a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment for up to five years, or both.

This means that the State of Maine considers stealing something in excess of $1,000 causes more damage than domestic violence does. Lifetimes of PTSD, scars, screaming nightmares, hypervigilance, never feeling safe, even in your own home, even if the victim moves to another state.

Section 207 of the Maine Legislature, Maine Revised Statutes states:

1.  A person is guilty of assault if:  

A. The person intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury or offensive physical contact to another person. Violation of this paragraph is a Class D crime; or   [PL 2001, c. 383, §10 (NEW); PL 2001, c. 383, §156 (AFF).]

B. The person has attained at least 18 years of age and intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury to another person who is less than 6 years of age. Violation of this paragraph is a Class C crime.

Section 207 – A states:

 1.  A person is guilty of domestic violence assault if:  

A. The person violates section 207 and the victim is a family or household member as defined in Title 19‑A, section 4002, subsection 4. Violation of this paragraph is a Class D crime.

Domestic violence criminal threatening (section 209-A): Intentionally or knowingly placing a family or household member in fear of imminent bodily injury.

Domestic violence terrorizing (section 210-B): Communicating to a family or household member a threat to commit a crime of violence dangerous to human life, against the person to whom the communication is made or against another, whether or not the threat is in fact carried out.

Domestic violence stalking (section 210-C): Intentionally or knowingly engaging in a course of conduct directed at or concerning a family or household member that would cause a reasonable person to:

Suffer serious inconvenience or emotional distress

Fear death or to fear the death of a close relation

Fear damage or destruction to or tampering with property, or

Fear injury to or the death of an animal owned by or in the possession and control of that specific person

Domestic violence reckless conduct (section 211-A): Recklessly creating a substantial risk of serious bodily injury to a family or household member.

Some statistics from the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence: 

Statistics for Adults

1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men have experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner and reported an IPV-related impact (ie, being fearful, concerned for safety, needed medical care, needed help form law enforcement, missed work or school, etc.) during their lifetime.

1 in 10 women (10.4%) and 1 in 50 men (2.2%) have been stalked by an intimate partner in their lifetime.

44% of lesbians, 61% of bisexual women, and 35% of heterosexual women experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.

26% of gay men, 37% of bisexual men, and 29% of heterosexual men experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner at some point in their lifetime.

Approximately 1 in 5 bisexual women (22%) and nearly 1 in 10 heterosexual women (9%) have been raped by an intimate partner in their lifetime.

More than half of respondents to the U.S. Transgender Survey (54%) experienced some form of intimate partner violence, including acts involving coercive control and physical harm.

Most domestic violence is committed against women (82%) as compared to men (18%).

More than 90% of relationship violence that is instrumental in the maintenance of control – the more systematic, persistent, and injurious type of violence – is perpetrated by men.

Globally, as many as 38% of all murders of women are committed by intimate partners.

Impact on Children & Young People

Each year, 1 in 15 children live in homes where one of the parents (or the parent’s partner) abuses the other adult. 90% of these children are eyewitnesses to the violence.

1 in 3 (31%) children who witnessed intimate partner violence reported being physically abused themselves. Of those children who did not witness intimate partner violence, only 4.8% reported physical abuse.

Statistics show that all children who live with intimate partner violence are affected differently. Not all are traumatized.

Nearly 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience physical abuse from a dating partner in a single year.

17.9% of Maine middle schoolers report that violence in their home, or the threat of violence, has caused them to have to leave home, even if only temporarily.

8.6% of Maine high schoolers who had a dating relationship in the preceding year report that someone they were dating or going out with physically hurt them on purpose at least once. The percentage was higher for gay/lesbian students (16.4%) and bisexual students (17.2%) than for heterosexual students (6.7%).

Maine Statistics

Advocates from the MCEDV network worked with 12,516 people statewide in 2020.

Of the total served, 612 people found safety in a Domestic Violence Resource Center sheltering program. This represents under 5% of the total number of people served in 2020.

In 2020, 441 volunteers from across the state donated 36,576 hours to help meet the needs of victims of domestic violence, representing a monetary value of at least $548,640.

In Maine, a domestic violence assault is reported to law enforcement every 2 hours and 22 minutes.

In 2019, domestic violence assaults comprised 33.9% of the total assaults reported to law enforcement.

Nationally, 56% of all nonfatal domestic violence crimes are reported to the police.

The Consequences

Mama was right,

I’ve heard it a hundred times.

He’s hurt you once

He’ll do it again.

I did not listen,

Now I suffer the consequences.

I wish a hundred times,

I could go back to that night.

I cried the next day,

For I had a black eye.

I should have listened to mama,

Now I suffer the consequences.

How much longer can this go on,

It’s all up to you, she’s always said.

So I finally stand up to him.

Now he’s put away,

I have surely suffered the consequences.

I should have listened to mama,

For now it is too late,

Because I am already dead.

By: Amy Theriault, date unknown

Thank you to the family of Amy Theriault, who gave permission to include this poem in the report. Amy was killed by her intimate partner in 2014.

The 2018 12th Biennial Report of the Maine Domestic Abuse Homicide Review Panel included the following statistics:

During this two-year report cycle, perpetrators committed sixteen homicides in 2016, seven of which the Maine Department of Public Safety categorized as “domestic” homicides, and offenders committed twenty-one homicides in 2017, nine of which were categorized as domestic homicides. Together, the sixteen domestic homicides accounted for 43% of Maine’s total homicides in those two years. Homicide lists from the Maine Department of Public Safety may be found in the appendices to this report.

According to the Violence Policy Center’s recent study, “When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2015 Homicide Data,” Maine ranked 44th in the nation for single male offender and single female victim homicides.

In April, 2021, Attorney General Aaron M. Frey released the 13th Biennial Domestic Abuse Homicide Review Panel Report on Wednesday.

This edition features a 20-year retrospective on the progress made in preventing domestic abuse homicides and the challenges that remain.

“We have seen families ripped apart by domestic violence,” Frey said.

The report focuses on the 18 domestic homicides in Maine from 2018 through 2019. Together, they account for nearly 43 percent of Maine's total homicides during that period. Nearly half of all homicides in Maine are committed by domestic violence perpetrators. 

20-Year Lookback

THE 13TH BIENNIAL REPORT OF THE MAINE DOMESTIC ABUSE HOMICIDE REVIEW PANEL

DEDICATED TO THE VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC ABUSE HOMICIDE IN MAINE

1998 - 2020

Zade Adams • Nathaniel Allen • Anielka Allen • Cherie Ann Andrews • Debra Audet • Antonio Balcer • Alice Balcer • Barbara Barnes• Barbara Bassett • Evelyn Bayliss • Kevin Behan • James Behan • Norman Benner • Heather Bickford • Carol Bolduc • ChristopherBolduc • Joshua Bolduc • Ila Boyle • Amanda Bragg • Christopher Brouillard • Deborah Brown • David Brown • Xander Brown • AmyBruce • Autumn Bryant • Leslie Bullock • Candice Butler • Naomi Buzzell • Jody Buzzell • Katie Cabana • Chevelle Calloway-Dilley •Kendall Chick • Renee Clark • Sherry Clifford • Linda Coffman • Pearle Cogswell • Duwayne Coke • Emmy-Leigh Cole • Ana Cordeiro •Cortina Cousins • Cote Cousins • Tina Cousins • David Cox • Carol Cross • James Cummings • Treven Cunningham • Leonard Daigle •Kelly Winslow Dapolito • Michael Davis • Christal Denis • Lisa Deprez • Amy Derosby • Michael Devine • Kary Dill • Nicholas Dorrington• Wendy Douglass • Michael Droulin • Mark Dugas • Rosemary Dyer • Marie Flewellen • Danielle Folsom Reed • Connie Gagliardi • AliciaGaston • Lavinia Gelineau • Winston George • Stephanie Ginn Gebo • Gene Gogan • Perley Goodrich, Sr. • Sarah Gordon • Joanne Goudreau • Mindy Gould • David Grant • Patricia Grassi • Christina Gray • Brenda Gray-Knost • Pamela Green • Loh Grenda • Lori Grifn• Linda Grindal • Janet Hagerthy • Calvin Hamilton • Matteo Hanson • Hope Harford • Ava Harford • Kristin Hart • April Haskell • KloeHawksley • Lori Hayden • Bonnie Hayes • Zachary Henderson • Ethan Henderson • Dana Hill • Steven Hodgdon • Jaxson Hopkins •Katherine Hunt • Virginia Hutchins • Christopher Ingraham • Evan James Blood • Richard Jeskey • Patricia Johnson • Joselyn Jones •Jillian Jones • Carol Jorgensen • Eric Jorgensen • Leo Josephs • Marissa Kennedy • Stephen Vance Ketzel • Sokha Khuon • Laudrinha Kubeloso • Freda Lagarde • Amy Lake • Cote Lake • Monica Lake • Marie Lancaster-Hale • Quinten Leavitt • Robert Leighton • Shirley Leighton • Jennifer Lessard • Alfred Licata • Malcolm Linton • Deborah Littleeld • Brooke Locke • Andrea Lockhart • Larry Lord • Damien Lynn • Kathleen Lyons • Robert MacDonald • Michael MacDonald, Sr. • Logan Marr • Michelle Masse• Ryan Mayo • Loryn McCollett • Jessica McDevitt • Janice McDonald • Donald McKay • Benjamin McLatchie • Debra Meitzler •Niomi Mello • Melissa Mendoza • Alfred Michalick • Alexandra (Aleigh) Mills • Trevor Mills • Kimberly Mironovas • BlakeMishou • Pandora Mitchell • Jason Montez • Shirley Moon • Lucille Moore • Vicki Morgan • Natasha Morgan • Robert Morrill• Cheryl Murdoch • Sarah “Sally” Murray • Michael Muzerolle • Lee Nason • Damon Nason • Tanya Neal • Roger Nelson •Elizabeth Nelson-Blais • Jessica Nichols • Charles Nickerson • Patricia Noel • Soheyla Nosrati • Paula Nutall • John Okie, Sr. • NicoleOliver • Kimberly Palmer • Allison Parker • Christine Pepin • Frank Perkins, Sr. • Angela Perry • Margaret Peters • Michael Petrucelly• Russell Pinkham • Irene Placer • Roland Poirier • Amber Pond • Katherine Poor • Matthew Rairdon • Carlos Ramos • Hunter Ramsey• Claire Randall • Sara Raymond • Christopher Rugen • Hillary Saenz • Mary Sandberg • Renee Sandora • Heather Sargent • ChristinaSargent • Destiny Sargent • Zoe Sarnacki • Stacey Savoy • Margarita Scott • Aaron Settipani • Jamilah Shabazz • Sally Shaw • MarionShea • Rosalie Shedd • Kimberly Shue • Allison Small • Kristen Smith • Billie Jo Smith • Nancy Smith • Leroy Smith • Heather Smith •Noah Smith • Lily Smith • Jennifer Soto • Melissa Sousa • Christopher Spampinato • Linda Spaulding • Mike Spaulding • Ethel Springer• Sean St. Amand • Faith St. Yves • Leslie Stasulis • Sheila Sykora • Beulah (Marie) Sylvester • Chelsea Taplin • Belinda Taylor • PaulineTaylor • Hazel Templeman • Jane Tetreault • Amy Theriault • Valerie Tieman • Thomas Tiernan • Robert Tilden • Chason Treadwell • Regina Trogdon • Anthony Tucker • Mary Turner • Dustin Tuttle • Starlette Vining • Rhonda Wakefield Reynolds • Brenda Warren • Scott Weyland • Stacy Wheaton • Elizabeth Williams • Katrina Windred • Maxine Witham • Donald Wood, Jr.

Governor Janet Mills, then the Maine Attorney General, stated in the 8th Report of the Maine Domestic Abuse Homicide Review Panel— January 2010 “Deaths by domestic violence are not measured or understood by statistics, though data is useful. Each death is different, each family, each child is affected differently, dramatically. When the newsprint fades and the headlines are forgotten, the hurt yet endures, and a community begs for understanding. These are not the quick and dirty, unfeeling deaths we see dozens of times each night on network television. These are real human lives cut short. These are families torn asunder. These are towns and neighborhoods ripped apart. Each of these deaths is real. Each is different. Each brings permanent consequences “. Her statement ends with, “We thank the families and friends of victims whose lives and deaths are dissected by the Domestic Abuse Homicide Review Panel. We thank them, and we pledge to work to complete the dream enacted thirty years ago—a vision of zero tolerance for abuse, a single year without a domestic violence homicide—fulfillment of a dream which would be the highest tribute we could offer to those who have lost their lives to violence in our state.”

Many residents of the State of Maine are still being victimized because Maine state law considers these horrific crimes a misdemeanor. They are afraid to speak up because a misdemeanor allows their abusers free to return to very possibly inflict even more serious damage. This damage may lead to the death of the survivor and/or their families. 

I am writing to you today to ask, even to beg, for tougher laws to protect domestic violence survivors. Raise the class of the crime, provide financial assistance to those victims so they can start a new life somewhere where they won’t be found, like a witness protection program, for those who need it. Create a panel or thinktank for ways to toughen laws and punishments. How many lives will it take for the State of Maine to realize that something must be done? It is a travesty when the crime of stealing something with a value of $1000.00 as a more serious crime than the potential of someone taking the lives of domestic violence victims of all genders and ages. We must also consider the serious negative impact upon those victims. This violence will remain with them their whole lives, effecting relationships, mental and emotional health, not to mention physical scars and damage. A television or computer can be replaced. A person cannot. Even one life lost is too much.

I am asking the State of Maine to become a leader in the prosecution of offenders and the protection of survivors. Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. Please let me know if you need further information.

Sincerely,

Amy J. Burns