THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 29, 1994 TAG: 9412290376
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
A month ago, Fran McDaniel became concerned that her estranged husband, the Rev. Bill McDaniel, was following her every move.
He showed up unannounced at her church, her friends' homes and the University of Virginia, where she was taking classes.
She had planned to meet with her lawyer to discuss what she could do to curtail her husband's actions. The day before that meeting, however, McDaniel shot her to death, then killed himself.
Her friends wondered what could have been done.
``I just thought if someone was harassing you, you could get a (protective) order,'' said friend Jackie McAllister. ``What are the parameters?''
For the past two years, confusion has existed about the state's stalking law, which took effect April 15, 1992.
The original wording of the stalking law made some law enforcement officials leery of using it. A Richmond judge declared it unconstitutional in 1993. The General Assembly passed a reworded law, which took effect in July.
``We knew the law was vitally important, and rather than waiting for the appeals court or the Supreme Court to rule on it, we moved ahead because it's so important,'' said Sen. Edgar S. Robb, a Charlottesville Republican who sponsored the revision.
The initial law required that a stalking suspect have an ``intent to cause emotional distress.''
The revised stalking law makes it a misdemeanor to engage in conduct ``with the intent to place, or with the knowledge that the conduct places'' another person in reasonable fear or death or injury. The maximum penalty is six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
``It's a matter of educating the public that the law exists,'' Robb said. ``People don't need their own attorney. They can go straight to the magistrate's office or to the commonwealth's attorney.''
Paige Goodpasture, a Richmond lawyer who volunteers at a battered-women's shelter, said that a person's life doesn't have to be threatened directly for stalking charges to be filed.
``He didn't have to say to her, `I'm going to hurt you,' '' Goodpasture said. ``If she had a reasonable basis to believe he would hurt based on past practice or from the bizarreness of his behavior, you could make an argument (for the charge).''
Jane McAllister of Henrico County, founder of Citizens Against Stalking, said law enforcement officials still are uncomfortable with the statute.
McAllister said she has 13 pages of documentation but has not been able to get a warrant issued against a person who has stalked her since 1981.
``The law has been changed, but it's still wishy-washy. . . . Where (officials) are getting hung up is that they don't know what reasonable fear is,'' McAllister said. ``Many officials we have dealt with have not viewed the behavior as threatening.
``Attitudes are a long time in changing. Stalking is sort of where the rape issue was 20 years ago.''
``We need to do more education with magistrates and prosecutors,'' McAllister said. ``We want to be a citizens' resource group for the police, working with them.''
John E. Mehfoud, Henrico County's chief magistrate, said that when he's approached about the statute, he considers the relationshipbetween the accused and the alleged victim.
Mentioning the McDaniels case, Mehfoud questioned how much of Bill McDaniel's actions, like the flower- and gift-giving, were part of his ``privileged, intimate'' relationship with his wife.
Mehfoud also said some people try to use the law to end a relationship.
KEYWORDS: STALKING LAW VIRGINIA by CNB