#DickHeadDetox : Tom Sizemore's History of Domestic Violence

Tom Sizemore has a long history of domestic violence and substance misuse. Below is a select list of some of his arrests and convictions for domestic violence and drug misuse.

2010: Arrested for domestic violence
2009: Arrested for an outstanding narcotics warrant
        : Sued for outstanding child support owed for twin sons born in 2005   
2007: Jailed for violating his probation in a drug case
2004: Sued for sexual harassment
          Drug conviction and numerous stints in rehab
2003: Found guilty of domestic violence, criminal threats, vandalism and
         making obscene and harassing phone calls against then partner Heidi
         Fleiss. He was sentenced to 6 months in prison, rehab and anger   
         management classes. 
2002: Arrested for alleged battery 

When will male violence and its relationship to drug abuse start being taken seriously? Substance misuse is frequently involved in violence against women and, yet, it is always the substance misuse which is considered most important. Prison may not be the best place for those with substance misuse problems but when it comes down to one violent man versus the safety of women, I'm always going to be on the side of prison despite believing that prison is not the best solution to the problem.

Until we start taking male violence seriously, I am always going to put the safety of women and children first. A radical reform of the entire judicial system is necessary, as is a complete restructuring of prisons. After all, Sizemore only received 6 months in jail for his serious assault on then-partner Heidi Fleiss and the subsequent harassment and stalking. Perhaps if that had been taken seriously, then his years of substance misuse and VAW would not have happened.

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#DickheadDetox : Lane Garrison and that Small Issue of Domestic Violence

Lane Garrison is another actor I've never heard of until I read he wasn't going to prison for domestic violence despite being on probation for vehicular manslaughter when he assaulted his girlfriend. Since when is physical assault not an automatic violation of probation? Not to mention the measly fact that he assaulted a woman which is supposedly a crime in and of itself.

The poor wee poppet is not going to jail for domestic violence for his assault on his former partner Ashley Mattingly. Instead, Garrison has been required to attend 52 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, 52 domestic violence classes, given 36 months of unsupervised probation, a restraining order and ordered to complete EIGHT hours of community service. All because he plead guilty. Ignoring the fact that domestic violence classes frequently aren't worth the paper they're suggested on, what the hell kind of punishment is eight hours of community service? 8000 hours maybe but not eight.

If this were Garrison's first offense, I might be willing to concede this was an appropriate punishment but it wasn't. In December 2006, Garrison pled guilty to vehicular manslaughter, drunk driving and providing alcohol to a minor. Garrison was partying with high school kids and tested positive for cocaine when he killed 17 year old Vahagn Setian  in the crash and injured two 15 year old girls. 

Garrison is just another violent man with a history of alcohol and drug abuse for the #DickheadDetox

(And, erm, WTF was he doing partying with teenage girls? Could we at least pretend that is creepy too?)

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