New proposed state law drawing criticism from ACLU, mixed reaction from students

Lawmakers are reviewing a proposed state law that would enable the use of electronic monitoring in an attempt to protect those who have obtained protection-from-abuse orders.

The proposed state law, which passed in the state Senate on a 50-0 vote Tuesday, is drawing criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, which says the law would hurt people who have not been convicted of any crime.

An ACLU spokesperson told Channel 11 the proposed law “would give victims a false sense of security, and it would be difficult to hire employees to cover the massive amounts of data that would be going into Pennsylvania.”

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State senators named the proposal “Alina’s Law,” after Alina Sheykhet, the 20-year-old Pitt student who was killed in October. Sheykhet was allegedly killed by her ex-boyfriend, Matthew Darby, a former Pitt-Greensburg basketball player.

Sheykhet had taken a PFA out against Darby just before the incident.

Both former and current Pitt students agree something needs to be done, but they can see both sides of the proposal.

Katherine Milliken, a senior at Pitt, said Sheykhet’s murder was a result of the justice systems “letting her down and letting her be a victim.” Milliken added that more protection in high-risk cases is justified.

Others were not as certain.

“I think that something needs to be done as far as more measures needs to be taken,” said Kent Poole, a Pitt graduate. “I don't know if that's necessarily the best way to go about it.”

The ACLU believes that “Alina’s Law” is too severe of a restriction on individuals’ civil liberties, limiting their freedom based off of one tragic case.

“This is a knee jerk reaction to a terrible case,” the spokesperson said. “It would reduce civil liberties and put thousands of people under court supervision."

That bill will now go to the state House of Representatives, and the ACLU will continue to fight against it.

Cox Media Group