Posted on 12/04/2004 5:15:05 AM PST by marktwain
Sheriff: No charge for wife in intruder-husband killing
Protective order issued; wife's door forced open
EMILY S. ACHENBAUM
Staff Writer
The Anson County Sheriff's Office will not press charges against a woman who killed her husband Wednesday after weeks of domestic violence against her.
Joy Burgess had a protective order against estranged husband Brian Gathings. Gathings had been convicted of threatening Burgess before, and jailed several times for charges of violence against her. But as with other recent domestic violence killings, none of it was enough to keep her safe.
When Gathings broke down his wife's back door with a shovel Wednesday, Burgess had reason to fear him, said Anson County Sheriff Tommy Allen. Burgess shot Gathings once in the chest, killing him.
The district attorney is still reviewing the case, but agreed charging Burgess wouldn't be appropriate, Allen said.
"There's such strong evidence of self-defense," Allen said.
District Attorney Michael Parker said he wouldn't comment on the case until he finalized his decision.
Allen said a family member of Burgess' gave her a large-caliber handgun after Gathings tried to break into her home Nov. 22.
Another relative drove screws into her windows for reinforcement.
"They had done things to protect her from him coming back," Allen said.
Gathings, 29, had been arrested five times since July on charges against his wife that included harassing phone calls and assault on a female.
The couple, who have a 6-year-old child, had been separated for about a year.
On Nov. 16, Gathings was released on a $5,000 bond after police charged him with pointing a gun at Burgess.
On Nov. 22, Gathings was charged with criminal trespass, and his parents signed a $15,000 bond.
On Wednesday, Gathings is believed to have disconnected the phone in his wife's home, Allen said. He broke down her back door with a shovel. Burgess, who works at an Anson County prison, shot him.
The couple had been scheduled for a hearing on the protective order Thursday.
"This is a sad case for all involved. There was a pattern here that tended to escalate," Allen said.
Domestic violence experts say violence typically escalates when a victim tries to leave an abuser, and that laws aren't strong enough to help.
The results can be devastating.
On Oct. 28 in Union County, David Wyzanowski killed his wife, three others and himself within 24 hours of being released from jail on a $1,000 bond. He had been charged with violating a protective order barring him from his wife. Two weeks earlier, he had been accused of raping and kidnapping her after luring her to his home with the promise of child support money.
According to the N.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence, at least 56 people have been killed in domestic violence-related homicides this year statewide. -- STAFF RESEARCHER SARA KLEMMER CONTRIBUTED TO THIS REPORT.
-- EMILY S. ACHENBAUM: (704) 289-6576; EACHENBAUM@CHARLOTTEOBSERVER.COM
that's my point though. No one here is attacking you. OR discriminating against you.
You are getting defensive for no real reason.
You have imagined this guy to be some woman-hating thug and he very well could be, but nothing he's said in this thread speaks to that end.
We all measure our experiences on our personal scale.
I have personally experienced and seen a lot of discrimination against me because I am male. I accept it as reality and get on with my life. I believe that in many circumstances in this country, you are far more likely to be officially discriminated against as a male than as a female. I am sure there are others on this forum who have had similar experiences.
Women, in many ways, today are "more equal" than men. I believe it is counter productive to dwell on it. The best we can do is to achieve equality under the law. For the most part this exists, but there are numerous places in the law that give women the advantage. Registration for the draft is the most obvious one.
I think what we need to do is lay down some definitions. Here are my submissions.
1) woman - a human being who was born with female genitalia
2) feminist - a woman (see above) who wishes to be treated EQUAL to men (a human being who was born with male genitalia)
3) Feminazi - a feminist (see above) who wants to be treated BETTER than men
Examples: A feminist is a woman who wants women to be able to vote, own land, and make the same salary as a man in the same job. A Feminazi is a feminist who thinks all men owe her something because some lady way back when was oppressed. Also, she should make MORE money for the same job than a man does, because one time it was the other way around. And she should get lots of scholerships solely because she is a woman, and there were some women a long time ago who were not allowed to go to school and learn stuff.
Could it be that I see something in his post that you cannot? Consider that please.
Nice graphic. Did you make it?
As far as women and the draft, I support it. And boy do I catch hell for it in the forums.
I will consider that, if you consider, for just a moment, that whatever it is you see in post that I don't see, is either not really there, or at the very least not something he meant to imply.
Can we please stop making assumptions about what a person MEANS and focus on what they are saying? You have made a really big deal about something in his post that even HE didn't see there. Perhaps it's time to reevaluate what it is you see.
Also, I am SO willing to consider that there's something there you see that I don't, I would like to ask you what exactly it is. Please...open my eyes.
Okay, without the sensationalizing from the media perhaps it should be written as such:
No charges for woman who killed an intruder who broke into her home with intent.
no i didnt make that one it comes from www.a-human-right.com/
Because it comes from you it is right. And if it comes from me it is wrong?
Now do you know what he meant to say? could you read his mind. You are assuming....which is exactly what you are accusing me of. Sorta the pot calling the kettle black, wouldn't you say?
How nice, having to do such a thing, however standing ones ground and relocating or not relocating just because of one's own discretion adds merit to the concept of personal freedom.
Um..I am not assuming anything about what he meant.
I am assuming plenty about what he said.
He said 99%, you attacked, he reminded that he never said all, you still attack.
"could you read his mind"
I AM NOT TRYING TO READ HIS MIND! I don't have to read his mind...I READ HIS FREAKING POST!
You don't have to shout, I am not deaf.
There's nothing wrong with the fact that you read it one way and I another. That's fine. Many writings have multiple interpretations.
My problem is that after you attacked him for clumping all women together, he said "I didn't say all", thus eliminating ANY confusion in what he may have meant, but you continued to attack him.
If you don't like his odds, if you think it's a different percentage...then say THAT. Don't make this into a battle that it isn't. You started off accusing him of grouping all feminists together. Then at one point you even said he was grouping all women together (all women aren't feminists, though), then you accused him of not liking when strong women speak their mind, now you are saying that he just picked the wrong numbers to use? Do you even know what battle you are fighting anymore?
You ask, do I even know what battle I am fighting? Yes sir re bob I do. My question to you is, why do you feel the need to come to his defense and EXPLAIN WHAT HE MEANT?
You don't see anything odd in that? He and I debate, and you jump in like you know where he and I were coming from. You don't know my thought process just before I posted to him, how I arrived at my statements. That's very presumptuous of you
If you have a bone to pick with me, then by all means start picking....But don't use him as an excuse to do so.
I felt the need to explain what he meant because when he did it, you refused to listen.
And I am not using him as an EXCUSE to pick a bone with you. He is just part of the reason I have one to pick.
But, since you won't listen to me either. I'll just let you get back to your ways. Thank you for the insight into your brain.
oh and...
"Hello. He had two groups..99% and 1% that IS grouping."
I NEVER said he didn't group...I said he never grouped them all together. Grouping them all together would have been 100% and 0%
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