Here. An excerpt:
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is hitting domestic violence abusers in their pocketbooks.
People convicted of domestic violence-related charges must now pay a $1,000 fine, in addition to other penalties handed down by tribal court. Tribal council approved of the measure at its meeting last week.
“We are hoping this will make them stop and think,” said Iva Key, the Eastern Band’s Domestic Violence program manager. “A lot of these are repeat offenders,” Key said later.
Money collected from the fine will be split 50-50 between services for victims of domestic violence and other tribal initiatives such as education.
A possible downside to the fine, however, is the financial hardship it might cause, especially if a family is trying to reunite and rebuild after an incident of abuse. Not everyone has $1,000 of disposable income, which means that money cannot be spent on necessities for the family.
I am not sure this is enough for the offender. He or she need guideness and help in finding the root cause of the abuse. It can be acohol or drug abuse involved in the problem. The money needs to go into programs to help both the offender and the offended.