Seven years after surviving her ex-husband's stabbing her more than thirty times, Katie Stager is enjoying life as much as she can- trying not to think about how the man who tried to kill her may one day walk free.
“I might have to leave the state but to have to leave my grandchildren-- [cries]. It’s not an option to leave them,” said Stager.
Katie’s ex-husband accepted a plea, likely leading to a shorter sentence and the chance for him to get parole.
According to the state's Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, intimate partner homicides in New York increased from 64 to 78 in 2016. And calls placed to hotlines increased by 22 percent.
Would a change in state laws change these outcomes?
“There are concerns about who ends up getting arrested. Concerns about racial portions of there continuing to be a disproportionate number of people of color being arrested,” said form Vera House Shelter Services Coordinator Jennifer Shaw.
“I do think part of the solution is in law but part of the solution is in people and the people who are responding,” said Family Law Attorney Bryn Lovejoy-Grinnell.
“There are a lot of cases where it doesn’t help. We have people calling two, three times a day, sometimes two three, three times a week and eventually it will turn worse,” said Deputy Luke Bickford of the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office.
Reporter: “Living through this, do you think the law could have done anything to have prevented this attack?”
Stager: “That’s a hard question. It’s hard to answer. I don’t know, I don’t know. I think people like him- if they want to do something, they’re going to do it.”
There does not seem to be any direct answer.
“I think creating a new domestic violence related law won’t have that hopeful impact or effect because if we’re seeing gaps in these hundred laws that already exist, that’s the place for us to focus our efforts,” said New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence Executive Director Connie Neal.
For Neal, the answer does not exist in the law alone.
"I think if we could have domestic violence now with the laws we have on the books, that would have happened so we know that there is something us we need to do and that’s kind of shifting to this community based process where we are all thinking about domestic violence from this different perspective," said Neal.
Historically, handling domestic related calls in the state has changed for the better.
"There were certainly situations where law enforcement would respond and they may ask the abusive person to take a walk around the block and cool off but I think a lot of that was couched and there wasn't really a lot of tools for officers back then as there are now," said Neal.
Yet thousands of people in New York and the nation deal with domestic violence every single day.
"There's no quick and easy fix. There is no law that could be signed and fix this all," said Love-joy Grinnell.
"We've moved on. We live life every day. We celebrate all the good things right now. We don't talk about his release date very often," said Stager.
Thousands are surviving and dying by violence although violence is preventable.
"You don’t beat someone for twenty-five years and try to kill them and then get out,” said Stager.
The Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence conducts yearly data under the Domestic Violence Dashboard—aiming to identify statewide trends.
For a statewide overview of available criminal justice, financial assistance, health and more resources available to those dealing with domestic violence you can visit the office’s “Help Available” page.