BILLINGS — A Billings woman is renewing her push for a statewide offender registry and harsher penalties for domestic violence abusers, in the wake of the death of Shawna Hart.
The effort comes from Chenoa Blake, a survivor of domestic violence herself, who is hoping that her petition on Change.org gathers enough attention from state representatives that new legislation, known as "Savanna's Law" in Tennessee, can be adopted.
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"We need something like that," Blake said Thursday afternoon. "It could save somebody's life."
The law, which was passed in January by the Tennessee General Assembly, creates an offender registry and imposes harsher penalties on abusers. Blake started the petition more than two months ago, after nearly six years in an abusive relationship with her husband.
"It's embarrassment a lot too," Blake said. "Like that's what it was for me, like shame and embarrassment."
Blake said that at times the relationship became so frightening that she felt helpless.
"You're too scared to call the cops by then because you know what's going to happen when you do call the cops," Blake said. "It's going to take me to die in order to get somebody's attention."
Blake shared these feelings, as she showed MTN pictures of her eyes and face bruised, proof of years of abuse.
Blake's story is not unlike that of Hart, a Billings mother who was found dead after repeated documented abuse, sparking a city-wide discussion. Her estranged husband, Tanner Grove, was charged with deliberate homicide and has pleaded not guilty.
Billings Area Family Violence Task Force Chair Chelsey Handford said Hart's death has added urgency to Blake's push.
"This unfortunate event really shows that it's a problem," Handford said. "I think this is a horrific event, and my hope is that it's really opened people's eyes."
Handford is urging the community to attend the task force's meeting Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church at 2032 Central Ave. to keep the momentum going.
"It's just really important that we keep that momentum in changing," Handford said. "We need people to continue to advocate," Handford said.
