Colorado
HB 1114, known as “Vonnie’s Law,” amends the stalking statute penalty by fixing the bail for the crime of stalking and mandating that a protection order be issued against the offender. It also requires that when the stalking is committed in connection with a violation of a court order, any sentence imposed shall be served consecutively and not concurrently. If a protection order has been issued, the court must require the defendant to acknowledge the protection order as a condition of any bond for his or her release. Moreover, in stalking cases, the prosecuting attorney must notify the alleged victim, the complainant, and the protected person of the order if they are not present at the time the protection order is issued. The prosecuting attorney may also request a hearing before the court to modify the terms of a protection order. Effective May 22, 2012.

This was updated on the stalking resource page of the National Center for Victims of Crimes www.victimsofcrime.org  The bill is named after a woman who was stalked by her neighbor for years before he killed her outside her Leadville home.  This new law will make stalking as serious a crime as domestic violence. Once the law was signed, a defendant will have to go before a judge before they’re released from jail, and a restraining order will automatically be issued for a victim.

In my opinion I know that protection orders, or what they refer to as restraining orders in most cases do not do a lot for the victim, it is just a piece of paper when you get down to it.  Most stalkers see it as something to get angry about, and they actually can become more violent.  Don’t get me wrong any of the laws that try to give victims some sort of hope are good, but I think we need to get some seriously strong laws against stalkers – take our lives back and stop giving the criminals more rights then the victims.