PENSACOLA, Fla. — A new law will take effect in Florida next month. It will increase penalties for repeat offenders of domestic violence.
It will also help survivors get financial help to move out of an unsafe, or even deadly environments.
The most common call the Pensacola Police Department responds to is for domestic violence. Police say they receive domestic violence calls every single day.
They’re often the most dangerous situations officers see. And for survivors, starting over after escaping domestic violence can be the hardest part.
“They’ll sit there and beat you half to death and then buy you flowers, and tell you how much they love you,” survivor Macy Tullos said.
Tullos preferred not to show her face. She says her ex-husband strangled and beat her until she almost died, while he recorded the incident.
“My kid was in the video,” Tullos said. “You can hear him say, ‘Please don’t kill my mom. Please don’t kill us.'”
Tullos says when they got married she didn’t know her ex-husband had a history of violence against women in another state.
“He was only in jail for like a night and then bonded out in the charges,” Tullos said. “You know, he didn’t have to spend any like time in prison or anything like that.”
WEAR: If there had been harsher penalties when he was found guilty of domestic violence prior, do you think that would have prevented what happened to you?Tullos: Honestly, I do. It hurt to know that I was married to such a monster and had absolutely no clue what I got myself into.
Tullos’ ex-husband is now serving five years in state prison.
Watch a part of Tullos’ interview below:
WEAR News interviews domestic violence survivor Macy Tullos. (WEAR)
A new state law aims to prevent stories, like Tullos’ from happening again. Starting July 1, House Bill 277 will go into effect statewide.
Repeat offenders of domestic violence will now face longer prison sentences. Pensacola Police Chief Eric Winstrom says this is a game-changer.
“I’ll tell you nine times out of 10 when you arrest someone for murder and you look back into their history…almost all of them have in their history a history of domestic violence,” Winstrom said.
“Holding domestic violence offenders accountable is extremely important, not just for that particular incident but for the propensity of those individuals to re-offend,” he said.
The new law also increases the money survivors can get from the state for help relocating. It will go from $1,500 to up to $5,000.
Tullos says the $1,500 she received helped her get back on her feet after losing everything.
“Yeah, I ended up getting a two-bedroom apartment and I used all of that money to go towards that plus more,” Tullos said. “…things like, you know, security deposit, first month’s rent, utility deposits, childcare, transportation, or even replacing basic necessities that you had no choice but to leave behind just to escape a dangerous situation. Having these funds readily available creates a sense of stability and independence instead of fear and uncertainty.”
The new law also adds “threatening to kill or injure a family pet” to the list of factors judges may consider in domestic violence cases.