Paris, Tenn.–State Rep. Bruce Griffey, R-Paris, has introduced legislation named for Amanda Mercer of Paris, who was killed June 1, 2020 by her estranged husband, Robert Mercer, in an incident at their business on Hwy. 79N. Robert Mercer also killed an employee of the business, Cindy Townsend, before turning the gun on himself.
Griffey has introduced “Amanda Mercer’s Law” to provide more protections for victims of domestic violence.
The following is Griffey’s column highlighting the legislation:
“Tennessee is a state with higher than average rates of domestic violence assaults to the rest of the country. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 40% of Tennessee women experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime while the national average is 33%. According to the TBI, in 2018, there were more than 73,500 domestic-related offenses in Tennessee with women accounting for 71.1% of the victims, and 98 of them were murders. According to data from the Violence Policy Center, a nonprofit organization researching violence in the United States, Tennessee has the 5th highest rate of women murdered by men. In 2017 (the most recent year for which data is available), the nationwide average was 1.29 per 100,000 women and Tennessee’s rate was 2.01 per 100,000 women. Moreover, national research shows that domestic violence trends higher in rural areas.
“Right here in my district, we have had one too many domestic violence related murders. For example, on May 22, 2018, Jessica Jones, after getting off work from her job at PML, was gunned down at home by her boyfriend and father of her son Demarrio Borum, who killed himself after shooting Jessica. Police had been called out to the home several prior times in 2017 for domestic disputes between Jessica and Demarrio. Just this past summer, on June 1, 2020, Amanda Mercer was shot and killed by her estranged husband Robert Mercer, who also shot and killed Cindy Townsend, before killing himself. Roughly 2 weeks before murdering Amanda Mercer, Robert Mercer was arrested for domestic assault against Amanda, but released on a $5,000 bond conditioned on him not having any contact with Amanda.
“This is why I filed House Bill 802, which I titled ‘Amanda Mercer’s Law’. This bill would require law enforcement to ask a domestic violence victim if the victim would like a GPS tracking device on the perpetrator, and, if the victim makes such request, then it would be a mandatory condition of bond and a GPS tracking device would be installed on the Defendant before release from jail. There is also a standard ‘Victim of Domestic Abuse’ form that law enforcement officers have victims fill out and sign. Under my proposed legislation, information about the availability of a GPS tracking device would be added to the form with a place for the victim to check if they would like to exercise such option.
“House Bill 802 – Amanda Mercer’s Law – is set to be heard before the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee on Wednesday, March 24, at 9 am in House Hearing Room II. Rep. Griffey invites anyone who would like to testify in support of this legislation to contact him at Rep.Bruce.Griffey@Capitol.TN.g