More News

Claude Browne, a Hyattsville resident, was talking about his girlfriend and their 18-month-old son. He is unemployed, but he said he wants to buy a camera so he can take pictures of his family.

He choked his girlfriend in May. Browne, sitting in the small Landover office of domestic violence counselor John Davidson as he described his wish to bond again with his family, was sentenced to 60 days in the Prince George's County Correctional Center and ordered to take part in Davidson's domestic violence sessions, held once a week in the prison.

Browne, who was released from jail Oct. 27, still lives with his girlfriend, and he said the therapy sessions have helped the couple resolve their disputes peacefully.

"I think it has helped," he said. "Now we discuss things… [The classes] helped me to deal with my anger in other ways."

Davidson, a licensed psychotherapist and certified domestic violence counselor, started the Controlling Anger Nonviolently, or CAN, program in 2003. Inmates spend six weeks identifying their problems and figuring out how to proceed with treatment, he said. After their release from jail he encourages them to enroll in "Phase 2," an 18-week program for former inmates, for more in-depth counseling.

The courts do not require batterers to enroll in the post-release program, but Davidson said many participants continue the sessions, which cost $25 a week. But he said he wished judges would require participation in the post-release sessions, which he considers important to recovery.

"Eight weeks is nothing," Davidson said. "This whole class should be packed. In jail it's packed."

Browne said he plans to continue with the program.

"I don't have to be here, but I'm going to be here," he said. "If it was 20 phases, I'm going to finish it."

Davidson said the recidivism rate for his clients is about 1 percent, well below the nationwide rate of 41 percent for batterers within one month of their release, according to the American Bar Association.

RamÛn Korionoff, a spokesman for the State's Attorney's Office for Prince George's County, said programs like Davidson's are vital.

"They're trying to deal with the anger of the batterer, of the offender. Anything that can stop that before it starts is good, that's for sure," he said.

Browne said the program has helped him settle disputes verbally, but he said it is hard work avoiding lashing out at his girlfriend.

"Right now, we're talking," he said. "But I'm not going to say what's happening tonight."

Browne said he is also worried about his son, who recently hit his mother. The child knows three words—"food," "bye-bye," and another, less polite word that also begins with the letter "b."

Browne said he is committed to finishing the program, if only to become a better role model.

"You don't want your child making the same mistakes you do," he said. "I blame myself for this. I could have avoided all of this."

E-mail Greg Holzheimer at gholzheimer@gazette.net.