Sam Riche/AP Photo
*Possible trigger warning*
Many of you have probably heard about the arrest of former GOP lawmaker and one-time gubernatorial candidate Steve Nunn, whose ex-girlfriend was shot and killed on Friday. Hours later, Nunn slit his wrists.
While Nunn (who survived) is pleading not guilty to the charges made - he had a domestic violence order against him by victim Amanda Ross and found with a gun at the scene of his suicide attempt - his lawyer Astrida Lemkins is saying that the issuance of the domestic violence order this past winter "caused all the problems":
"It caused Steve Nunn to lose his job, reputation and drove him to slit his wrists," she said."If there does turn out to be a relationship between the death of Amanda Ross and Steve Nunn, it is not because the DVO failed, but rather because the DVO was issued," said Lemkins.
Lemkins said Ross should have also been held accountable for her role in the domestic violence incident.
"Things are not black and white," she said. "There's a lot of gray in there."
Um, what? Whatever Steve Nunn has done to himself and to Ross is absolutely no fault but his own - to place any blame on a woman who was not only a victim of abuse but has no opportunity to defend herself (because, you know, her life was taken from her) is inhuman.
Furthermore, blaming the DVO made against him after he repeatedly beat Ross and implying that if he did kill her, that could have been avoided sounds pretty damn similar to threats used to keep women in abusive relationships; in other words, if she hadn't went to the authorities and caused trouble, she would be alive right now.
There are just no words for this kind of offense.
h/t to reader Katie
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You know what this reminds me of? Bigger Thomas from Native Son, Camus' L'Etranger, Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment... oh no, the fear of punishment is driving people crazy! whatever shall we do...
This is obviously stupid, awful, and offensive.
I think a similar thing is likely to happen whenever someone seems to be clearly guilty - since there is no sane explanation that can possibly exculpate them, their lawyer has to create an insane explanation. I'm pretty sure that's what we're seeing here.
Ms. Lemkins should have been able to come with another, different insane explanation that was less offensive, but she was kind of painted into a corner in general.
Nah, defense attorneys pull this shit all the time, because juries and judges believe it. If she weren't causin' trouble. It's fucking disgusting.
Also, what hurts is oftentimes there is misconduct on the victim's part, and people will latch on to that like that combined with filing charges is the root of all the problems, especially if the defendant loses a job or something.
Except this situation has come up before and I haven't seen this defense before (which doesn't mean that no one else has used it, just that it's pretty uncommon). This would suggest that she was not painted into this particular corner, as other lawyers representing similar cases have not felt the need to argue that it's the DVO's fault.
I know lawyers sometimes have to give stupid defenses, but that doesn't mean it's not possible to cross a good-taste line. I don't have time to research it at the moment, but I can guarantee you that other, less horrific, defenses have been used in the past.
I agree. There I have never heard an attorney claim the PPO drove a defendant to murder. That's pretty outlandish and I can't see a jury reacting favorably to it.
That's a very good counter-argument!
Thank you!
Abusers who kill frequently take the suicide route to get sympathy. Interesting isn't it, how unsuccessful the suicide attempts are, yet the murders are always a success?
Sorry to nitpick, but shouldn't the headline say "for murder" rather than "on murder"?
Or alternatively...
"lawyer blames murder on victim and DV order".
Sorry for being pedantic but it just doesn't make sense the way it's written atm!
Oh and I'm not surprised at the lawyer's tactics. I wonder how she sleeps at night.
You know, you can't win either way it seems if you're an abused woman.
I've recently been the target of phone stalking and harassment. And it seems that my stalker became more angered by the idea that I was going to change my phone number and researching getting a restraining order against him. What was I supposed to do? Wait around for him to get more angry and violent for another reason and kill me? So I anger him if I get the restraining order, but I also anger him by just being alive. So I really can't win.
Anyway, here's a big FUCK YOU to this legal tactic!
Speaking as a DV prosecutor, get the restraining order. Keep in close contact with your local PD. Keep friends and family around you; minimize the time that you are alone. Be brave and strong. Talk to your local crime victim's assistance group (likely affiliated with your local prosecutor's office) and they will help.
Oh yeah, I completely agree. I wasn't saying I wasn't going to get the restraining order. Sorry if that was at all confusing.
I just wanted to encourage you. I see what this kind of violence does to people, and wanted you to know that good people are out there and we are on your side.
When you change your phone number, keep the old number. If you totally change the number, your harasser will probably find the new number and keep harassing you. Even unlisted numbers can be found by a persistent harasser. Keep a line at the old number (you can turn the ringer off), and you can use caller ID and voice mail evidence against your harasser, should it come to that. I know it is costly and annoying to you to keep a second line around, and it should not be. Sadly, that's what it takes to collect evidence and regain a small measure of peace.
Obvs, limit the people you give your new number to.
Weighing in with the local perspective here - I live in Lexington, where this crime occurred, happened to have met Ms. Ross a time or two through mutual acquaintances, and my parents knew Mr. Nunn as a college classmate in the 70s. I've read the EPO she took out on him (the local paper was kind enough to make pdfs available of all the public records in the case). I think his defense lawyer is doing exactly what she is paid to do - look for any possible way to explain her clients' actions. Was his life ruined in many ways by the EPO that was taken out? Yes. He lost his job and what had been a pretty good reputation in the state. Did he deserve it? If he was violent to her, he certainly did. Did she also hit him? I couldn't say, as I wasn't there, and it doesn't really matter as it wouldn't have been justification for murder in any case. If she did, he could have retaliated by getting his own EPO on her. And yes, it is absolutely shitty for the lawyer to imply that the act of getting an EPO/DVO was what may have brought about the crime, but I think she's just looking for any possible angle for her client. My guess would be the lawyer is trying to set up some kind of defense that he was in a bad mental state and in a horrible downward spiral, hoping for leniency at sentencing - however she said it in a very stupid manner.
Of course, the biggest tragedy is that if this happened in another part of town, and involved people who weren't well-known professionals and heirs to political legacies, it wouldn't be in the newspaper.