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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 29, 2019 11:51 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Anita Astorino Kulik |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Alina's Law (Electronic Monitoring for PFA) |
| The 2017 murder of Alina Sheykhet, a University of Pittsburgh student, exposed the flaws in Pennsylvania’s Protection from Abuse (PFA) system. Alina’s ex-boyfriend broke into her apartment and murdered her after being served the protection from abuse order. If law enforcement had been able to monitor his activity, Alina could still be alive today. There were 117 fatalities as a result of domestic violence in Pennsylvania in 2017. I believe we can reduce the number of victims in the future by allowing judges to order a PFA defendant to wear an electronic monitoring device if the defendant is found to present a substantial risk of violating the PFA order. If a victim does their part in getting a protection from abuse order, then the state should do its part in making sure the order is not violated. I think we can all agree that victims should not have to live in fear while they wait for a court date. Please join me in taking this important next step to further prevent senseless deaths at the hands of dangerous abusers. |
Introduced as HB588