Thurman declined to comment for this story. She now relies on a wheeled walker. I don`t want C.J. Wife beater released from prison - UPI Archives We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Thurman will stay at one of the state's dozens of halfway houses throughout Connecticut until Kentucky authorities decide whether they will allow him to live there with his father and stepmother, officials said. Family court judges (nationwide, not just here) usually reject claims of domestic violence, and worse, The victim actually gets punished for bringing up the issue of abuse, says Meredith Gold, director of abuse services at YWCA Greenwich. when Thurman arrived. Its just a complete misread of what the psychological underpinnings are. ''The lesson of Thurman is that cops can`t look the other way, even if they prefer to perceive abuse as a private family matter,'' says Nancy Loving, a former police program specialist in Philadelphia`s managing director`s office, who now works as a consultant to mayors and governors on spouse-abuse issues. Shes a very strong person, Weinstein said. What happened to Tracey Thurman? - Answers Eight months later, Tracey was in the hospital, and Buck was in jail on an assault charge. Charles Thurman will be released on good behavior from Somers State Prison on April 12 after serving just over half a 14-year sentence. Smiling, she sees how irrational she was during five months of rehabilitation at Gaylord Hospital in Wallingford, where she feared men on her ward themselves paralyzed and unable to walk would attack her. United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, "Convicted Wife-Beater Whose Case Led To Landmark Decision Released from Jail", "The Criminal Law of Misdemeanor Domestic Violence, 1970-1990", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thurman_v._City_of_Torrington&oldid=1146640230, Local police of the City of Torrington ignored domestic violence reports pertaining to the husband of Tracey Thurman and further failed to enforce a court ordered restraining order. She sued the city of Torrington and received $2.3 million in damages in 1985. She wants to lead a normal life, but the trappings of celebrity intrude: ''People want me to make speeches and go to shelters, but I can`t go through that again and bring it home to C.J. Thurmans case gave rise to the Family Violence Prevention and Response Act of 1986, also known as the Thurman Law, which requires police to make an arrest when confronted with domestic violence. A reluctant hero, Motuzick does not readily share the horrific details. The attorney claimed in federal court that police violated Motuzicks 14th Amendment rights by failing to protect her. He served a 6 1/2 year prison term I cant believe this, but I did actually feel safe., He hit her for the first time a few months before she became pregnant with C.J., who was born in August 1981. He should know. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. The pro-arrest trend has been fueled by the latest FBI statistics showing that spouse murders in America account for one-eighth of all homicides. Fifteen minutes later, with no officer in sight, Tracey exited the house to speak to Buck. Others simply had her name, and Torrington, Connecticut. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Tracey Thurman sued the City of Torrington, saying the police department failed to protect her, and her legal victory in 1985 led to dramatic changes in domestic violence laws, and in how police and prosecutors handle domestic violence. Tracy Thurman's story was later made into a 1989 television movie, entitled "A Cry for Help: The Tracey Thurman Story." It was the first time a federal court had allowed a suit against a police department in a case of domestic violence. He defended the decision to send the May 5 threat to family relations, although he told the jury that family relations had never issued an arrest warrant during his 29-year career. Im not going to ever rest until I know hes not around, Motuzick said. On Jan. 1, 1983, she looked out the window and saw that Buck was back, standing under a street light. ''The sin of omission, to deny certain people access to justice, can be as damaging as the sin of commission.