Proponents of the new law, which goes into effect in July, say it will protect people who are in — or who have just escaped from — abusive relationships. Under the new law, killing someone with a protection from abuse order, or PFA, would be a capital crime, punishable by either death or life in prison. According to a 2012 report from the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center, 7 percent of the state's homicides were related to domestic violence. Advocates at 2nd Chance, an Anniston-based advocacy group for victims of domestic violence, agreed with Sanders about prevention, but see the law as progressive for Alabama. Trace Fleming-Smith, the sexual violence program director for 2nd Chance, stressed the importance of combating the issue of domestic violence on both sides. "When I first started in law enforcement, we couldn't arrest on a domestic violence crime," Amerson said.