Michigan has now joined other states to allow judges to order suspects of domestic violence to wear GPS devises. They will be able to warn victims if their alleged abuser is near.
Last year Mary Babb was in her SUV outside the Morning Sun newspaper in Mount Pleasant Michigan where she worked when her estranged husband rammed her with his pickup truck. When her vehicle overturned she was hanging upside down by her seat belt.
Thomas Babb walked up to her and while she hung there he fired two rounds from a shotgun killing her in front of horrified witnesses.
Before Mary Babb was murdered she had filed for divorce and moved out. She changed jobs and had a court order protecting her from her estranged husband but he continued to follow her.
The Kalamazoo Gazette
reports Mary Babbs's brother Michael Anderson said,
"She did everything the law provided her, and it wasn't enough."
After Babbs death her family successfully lobbied for Michigan to join other states that now include domestic abusers and stalkers to be electronically monitored.
With the new law in Michigan judges can order a person suspected of domestic violence to wear a GPS device even before they go to trial. This is to alert a victim if an alleged abuser is nearby.
Last month Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed into law another measure that will require a paroled prisoner who was convicted of aggravated stalking to also wear a GPS tether.
The GPS devices have been used for years to monitor sex offenders. Due to technological advances it is now possible for the systems to issue a warning by cell phone if the offender gets too close to their victim.
There are now 11 states that have related measures according to Diane Rosenfeld, a lecturer at Harvard Law School that proposed the Massachusetts law that went into effect last year that allows judges in that state to require a GPS device for those who violate personal-protection orders. This year Oklahoma and Hawaii along with Michigan followed suit with GPS laws.
According to telegram.com similar legislation is waiting for the governor of Illinois to sign. This law is named for Cindy Bischof who was gunned down in March by her ex-boyfriend.
Due to the new GPS technology instead of just protecting a victim when they are at home, work or their children's school it can protect the victim now in "zones" as they move around if they are wearing a device.
It does have limitations if there's poor cell phone coverage, and the zone must be large enough so a victim can be alerted in time to react.
Thomas Babb is serving a 52- to 77-year prison sentence in the slaying of his wife.
