이 사건(드라마)의 핵심은 The Thurman Law, which called for mandatory arrests in wife-beating cases in Connecticut and several other states (와이프를 구타하는 남편은 즉시 체포한다) 이다. 이 드라마를 통해 보면, 법적으로 남편에게 매맞고 사는 여자를 보호하는 법이 미국에서 만들어진 시기가 그리 오래된 것이 아니라는 것을 알 수 있다. 1980년대이다. 인권(人權), 나아가 여권(女權)이라고 볼 수 있을 것 같다. 미국의 법은 사건이 나고 해결되는 과정, 그리고 그 결과를 통해 새로운 법이 만들어진다. 이 사건을 통해 만들어진 법을 남편과 와이프의 성(姓)을 따서 "Thurman Law"라고 부르는 것이 인상적이다. 불명예스럽게도 자신의 성(姓)을 따서 법이 만들어져서 이 남자는 한번 더 화가 났을 것 같다. 그 사실을 알았을때 과연 누가 옆에 있었을까? 누군지 몰라도 아마 한방 맞고 넉다운이 되어버렸을 것이다. 이렇게 어렵게 만들어진 이런 법을 통해서 미국의 여자들은 자신의 권리를 충분히 주장하면서 살아간다. 법 아래서 남녀나 부부가 만나고 헤어지는 관계가 더욱 분명(확실)하게 되는 것이다. 이런 법을 근거로 여자(와이프)가 경찰(911)에 전화를 하면 (고소 당해서 몇 밀리언을 물어주고 직장에서 쫓겨나지 않으려고) 즉시 오게 되어있다. 또한 곧 퇴직을 앞둔 경찰이 직무를 제대로 수행하지 않아서 국가에 큰 손해를 주었기 때문에 이 사건을 통해 이런 것들에 대한 문제를 해결하기 위한 방향도 제시되었을 것이라고 본다. 미국에서 사업을 하거나 직장에서 일을 하면 세금을 아주 많이 내야 하는데, 이 세금으로 경찰 월급도 주고 이런 손해배상도 하기 때문이다. 많이 버는 사람은 세금을 더 많이 내야하기 때문에 불공정한 것처럼 보이지만 어찌보면 공정하기도 하다.
What happened to Tracy Thurman?- you-will-know.com
On June 10, 1983, Charles "Buck" Thurman, husband of Tracey Thurman, assaulted Tracey in Torrington, CT. He stabbed her 13 times in the chest, neck, shoulders, and face - 10 minutes after she had called the police.
He kicked her in the head with a booted foot, grabbed their 2-year-old son, told the child, "I've killed your rotten mother," and then dropped the child on top of Tracey in a pool of blood. It took 25 minutes for the police to arrive.
Astonishingly, Tracey did not die, but the damage was immense. She spent seven months in the hospital. Although the left side of her body was able to function, she had no tactile sensation. The right side of her body was able to feel, but she had lost 80% of her motor skills.
The funny thing is, Tracey had multiple restraining orders against Buck and also made numerous reports to the police about Buck's threats. Tracey Thurman was the inspiration of Thurman Law which called for mandatory arrests in wife-beating cases in Connecticut and several other states. She sued the city of Torrington and received $2.3 million in damages in 1985. Tracy Thurman's story was later made into a 1989 television movie, entitled "A Cry for Help: The Tracey Thurman Story."
She lives in Torrington, Connecticut with her son Charles Motuzick. In 2010, her son was sentenced to seven years in prison for drug crimes.
Charles "Buck" Thurman served seven years in prison and was released in 1991. Following his release, Thurman was on probation for five years. He now lives in East Hampton, MA. He now has a new wife, Christine Thurman.
What happened to Tracy Thurman?- Yahoo! Answers.com
Thanks to her, there is now the Thurman Law, which called for mandatory arrests in wife-beating cases in Connecticut and several other states. In the twelve months after the new law took effect, the number of domestic violence assaults reported increased by 92 percent.Read the page 38 of that 88 pages PDF document. In 1984, Tracey Thurman was awarded 2.3 million dollars in damages from the city of Torrington, Connecticut.
http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Taubman…
A Cry for Help: The Tracey Thurman Story (1989)
Tracy Thurman (played by Nancy McKeon in the movie) was married to a man who abused her. But he continues to harass her after she gets a restraining order, and the police do little to help. When he brutally beats her and slashes her throat in front of police, she sues the city and the police department for failing to protect her.
The scene of Buck's final, near fatal attack on Tracey is extremely violent and a almost TOO long. Buck Thurman chases Tracy down, throws her to the ground and stabs her repeatedly. As she lays helpless on the ground, he kicks her, jumps on her head and screams at her that she MADE him do all this, its all her fault (isn't that what the abuse always says)--stopping a couple of times and wandering a few feet away only to return and continue his attack. During this time, a police officer stands there, and as he says later "I continued to observe the situation". The only action he takes during the attack is to try and restrain the boyfriend (maybe husband?) of Tracey's friend when he attempts to aid her and picking up Buck's dropped knife and locking it in the trunk of his car. The only reaction we see from him is when Buck attempts to grab his son--then the officer rouses himself a bit.
It is this handling of the attack that leads Tracey to sue the police department on the grounds that they failed to offer her equal protection under the law.
Here's from the New York Times:
http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/mo…
Tracey Thurman was a real-life Connecticut housewife who, throughout her marriage, suffered horrendous abuse at the hands of her husband. The beatings culminate in a single bloody night when Buck Thurman stabs his estranged wife 13 times. She survives--barely--and Buck is arrested. Having failed to get proper protection from the local police force, Tracey successfully sued the officers in 1989. The long-range result was the Thurman Law, which called for mandatory arrests in wife-beating cases in Connecticut and several other states. Nancy McKeon, who plays Tracey Thurman in A Cry for Help, starred in the film in the hope that it would prevent Buck Thurman's early release from prison. A Cry For Help: The Tracy Thurman Story first aired on October 2, 1989; Thurman was scheduled for release in 1991.
Here's from Chapter 9:
http://www.ejfi.org/DV/dv-42.htm#buck
In 1983 Charles "Buck" Thurman was sentenced to 20 years in prison after his brutal attack on his wife Tracey Thurman led to a $1.9 million suit against the Torrington, Connecticut police. In the Torrington case, Thurman was found guilty of stabbing his wife 13 times, stomping on her head, and partially paralyzing her for life.
Thurman was released from prison in 1991 after serving only nine years of the twenty year sentence. In 1999 a woman Thurman was living with in Northampton, Massachusetts, and mother of their child, fled the state accusing him of repeatedly choking and sexually assaulting her.
No criminal charges were filed as she only asked for a restraining order to keep him away from her. The order was issued, she returned to Massachusetts and Thurman, who has a long history of ignoring court orders, violated this latest order.
Thurman pled guilty only to violating a restraining order. A judge placed Thurman on probation for a year. Additionally, he ordered Thurman to participate in any counseling ordered by the probation department and ordered him to comply with the restraining order against him.
This was the only action taken by the judge despite the fact that Charles "Buck" Thurman is a chronic violent abuser who has a history of beating women and ignoring court orders. Buck Thurman had a restraining order against him and he was on probation when he beat and stabbed Tracey Thurman and traumatized her for life.
출처: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070606214628AAlybf4
미국의 법이 구체적으로 어떻게 만들어지고 어떻게 적용이 되는가? 알아볼 수 있으니 시간을 내서 맨위 동영상을 보길 바란다.
아래 동영상은 백업이다.
또한 이런 법을 악용하는 여자들도 있을 것이다.
위에서 열심히 미국법에 대한 공부를 했으니 맞춰봐. 미국에는왜 매맞는 여자가 없을까?
