THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 24, 1996 TAG: 9609240314
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: 38 lines
For more than two decades Kay Bailey Hutchison has endured the fear of being stalked and harassed by a man, but on Monday the Republican senator from Texas struck back for herself and victims of stalkers nationwide.
At a White House ceremony, President Clinton signed into law a bill drafted by Hutchison that would dramatically toughen federal laws against stalking.
``The victims of stalkers across the country now have a greater degree of protection and security than ever before,'' Hutchison said.
Hutchison has been stalked by a mentally unstable man, believed to be living in Houston, who worked as a volunteer in her 1972 campaign for the Texas House. The man, whom she helped get committed to a veterans' hospital, has shown up at her office and home and once jabbed an ice pick into her photograph on a campaign poster.
Hutchison's measure makes it a federal felony for a stalker to cross state lines to intimidate or threaten a person in such a way that the victim is in fear of death or serious bodily injury.
It also extends federal anti-stalking protection to a victim's family, to people who live or work on federal property and to individuals who are being stalked by individuals other than their spouses or former spouses.
Clinton, in a largely bipartisan event, praised Hutchison for her efforts to turn her stalking measure into law. He said Hutchison's amendment ``dramatically toughens the law against stalkers - those who would threaten, harass and instill fear in others, especially women and girls.''
The Hutchison measure would make stalking a crime that would carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Penalties would increase to 10 years for cases involving serious injury or use of a weapon, 20 years for permanent disfigurement or a life-threatening injury, and life in prison for a stalking that ends in the victim's death.
KEYWORDS: STALKING by CNB