Apr 16, 2018 3 min read

A year and eight months after Tierne Ewing was abducted and killed in a barn in West Finley Township by her estranged husband, Pennsylvania has a law named after her that will allow judges to better evaluate the threat an alleged perpetrator poses.

A few weeks prior to her death, Ewing’s estranged husband, Kevin, had been arrested for domestic violence and other offenses after holding her against her will and beating her over a 12-day period in June and July 2016, but he was released after posting $100,000 bond set by District Judge Mark Wilson.

State police said Kevin Ewing shot himself after killing his wife.

At a signing ceremony in Harrisburg Monday, state Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll Township, said every time Tierne’s name is spoken will be proof she hasn’t been forgotten.

“Tierne’s memory will live on and on as an angel for those who don’t have a voice. She will be with us forever.”

She stressed afterward Tierne’s Law clarifies judges and district judges can use a risk assessment tool at the pretrial level.

During remarks by Gov. Tom Wolf and Bartolotta, Tierne Ewing’s mother, Annelle Kopko, held a photograph of the law’s namesake wearing a blue denim cap and red-framed glasses.

Kopko, seated in a wheelchair, looked upward and cried out as she took the pen the governor handed her.

Other family members, including Tierne’s father, Richard Kopko, and her sisters, Toyia and Tascha and nephew MacKenzie, were at her side in the state Capitol, as were other advocates of the law. Bartolotta was scheduled to introduce members of Tierne Ewing’s family on the floor of the Senate chamber.

The governor asked members of the House of Representatives to pass other legislation related to the rights of domestic violence victims.

“We mourn Tierne’s loss with her family, and while we can never fix what they’ve had to go through, Tierne’s Law will help us prevent senseless and horrible situations like this one from happening to more Pennsylvania families, and will hold perpetrators of domestic violence and abuse accountable for their heinous crimes,” Wolf said in the ceremony that was streamed live over the internet.

Tierne’s Law states when setting bail, the issuing authority can consider whether the defendant poses a dangerous threat, and, if so, prohibit access to the victim.

A violation of the terms may be punished by revocation of pretrial release or forfeiture of bail.

The Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing is to develop a model pretrial risk-assessment tool.

“We haven’t given them a definitive timeline,” Bartolotta said. Judges can use other risk assessment tools in the interim.

The Commission on Sentencings is required to update the Legislature on the use of assessment tools in two years.

The law also requires continuing education for district judges and Common Pleas Court judges on the subject.

An amendment by the House added strangulation to the list of felony offenses for which police can arrest an alleged perpetrator without a warrant.