NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Politicians and domestic violence advocates say a young woman could be alive today if a domestic violence law had been in place a week before she was killed. Police believe 22-year-old Lauren Johansen was killed by her ex-boyfriend, 23-year-old Bricen Rivers, who was released from a Davidson County jail shortly before her death.
Loopholes in the system may have allowed him to cross national borders and allegedly end her life.
Rivers was brought there in the first place after the two were involved in a brutal and bloody confrontation on a trip to Nashville in December. He was accused of aggravated kidnapping.
But Johansen’s family said they were never informed of his release.
A new law that came into force on July 1, the week Johansen was found dead, is set to change this.
“I am 100 percent convinced that she would have been notified in some form if this had gone into effect,” said Republican Rep. Clay Doggett of Pulaski, who introduced the bill in the House during the last legislative session.
The new law, called the Debbie and Marie Domestic Violence Protection Act, is named after a mother and daughter who were shot and killed outside their Lebanon home by Marie Varsos’ estranged husband in 2021.
Now, a judge or justice of the peace is required to send a notice to victims of domestic violence who have suffered assault, strangulation, or the use of a deadly weapon when their abuser is released from jail and approaches them.
It starts with a court-ordered ankle bracelet.
“You must place this device on the defendant before he is released from prison,” said Representative Doggett.
If the perpetrator violates a protection order or approaches the victim, they are notified by phone. This gives the victim time to flee, call 911, and contact the police through a monitoring service.
“This could be their home, their church, their workplace, their children’s school, places where the victim regularly visits,” said Representative Doggett.
He added that one of his constituents contacted him last month and said the warnings had changed his life.
“She was aware of the law that had been enacted and therefore requested that this device be placed on the defendant,” said Representative Doggett.
Since then, he said, she has received over 100 notifications about him entering the zones.
“She told me that for the first time in years she feels safe because she gets this notification every time,” added Rep. Doggett.
If a defendant is released without supervision, the court is expected to make an effort to contact the victim directly, inform him or her, and confirm that he or she will not receive any notifications.
A hearing is scheduled for August 15 with six judges and the bail bonds companies involved in Rivers’ release.
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