Cash-strapped Topeka, Kansas, has decided to stop prosecuting domestic violence casses in order to save money.
The City Council announced
the proposal Oct. 4, after the Shawnee County District Attorney's office
announced it could no longer prosecute misdemeanors, including domestic
violence cases. The city's maneuver may even require repealing the part
of the city code that bans domestic battery. Mayor Bill Bunten told the
Topeka Capital-Journal city officials take domestic violence seriously,
and it would be "dead wrong" to assume offenders won't be prosecuted.
But the dispute is over who would pay for it, he said.
Shawnee County has already
dropped 30 domestic violence cases since it stopped prosecuting the
crime on Sept. 8. Some 16 people have been arrested for misdemeanor
domestic battery charges and then released after charges were not filed.
County District Attorney
Chad Taylor has reportedly offered to review all misdemeanor cases filed
in Topeka for potential prosecution, including those now handled by the
city's municipal court, in exchange for a one-time payment of $350,000
from the city.
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