State With elections looming close on the horizon, state legislative activity is expectedly slow. For the most part, interim committee work has also given way to the furious pace of re-election campaigning. Mississippi provides an exception to the lull in activity, as lawmakers there will meet on November 6 for a one-day special session addressing economic development. Three recently released reports place states' feet to the fire in relation to addressing male violence against women, especially homicide. The top ten highest rates are in South Carolina , Louisiana , Arkansas , North Carolina , Wyoming , Maine , Oklahoma , Nevada , Alabama , and Colorado .
State agencies have no separate category for domestic crimes.
That led the coalition to begin compiling such data. In anticipation of the upcoming legislative session, The Clarion-Ledger , a Mississippi newspaper, reported recently on the state's low grade passing laws addressing health care response to domestic violence. In other developments, the Wyoming Supreme Court unanimously upheld the sentence of life without parole for a repeat sex offender. Political analysts indicate that mandatory arrest could become a contentious issue in the next state legislative session. Note that Governor Owens voted in favor of the law in 1994 when he was a state senator.