Giving "Hitting It" a Different Meaning

When I saw the headline - Calif. Bill Would Target Spouses Who Hire Hit Men - I thought, Isn't hiring a hitman illegal already? I wondered it this was like one of those laws against beating up people because of their sexual orientation – as if beating people up was otherwise legal. But I read the article by Associated Press' Cathy Bussewitz.

The wife of a Southern California police detective, distraught because she had lost custody of her children, tries to hire a hit man from the Vagos motorcycle gang to kill him.

And to think she once made vows to him.

Instead, gang members alert police, who disguise themselves as biker thugs and secretly tape a conversation with her, leading to the wife's arrest and ultimate conviction for solicitation of murder.

Even gang members can do something right.

But later on, in divorce court, she is awarded half the couple's property, even though she tried to have her husband whacked.

Well, sure. We have no fault divorce and community property. She could have promised before the married that she didn't want - and couldn't have - kids, but instead wanted to work full time. Then, after they married, she could have quit her job, stayed home watching TV and eating ice cream, not lifting a finger around the house. She could have had sex right there in the marital bed with the hubby's supposed best friend, and bore several of his children. Then, she could have gone to live with her lover, filed for divorce, and taken out a hit. NONE OF THAT WOULD MATTER – she would still be entitled to half of the marital assets.

A bill scheduled to be heard Tuesday in a state legislative committee seeks to close what its author says is a loophole in the state's no-fault divorce code. In part, the legislation will specify that spouses who solicit the murder of their husband or wife are not entitled to collect financial rewards in divorce proceedings.

The bill was prompted by John Pomroy, a police detective in Pomona, about 30 miles east of Los Angeles. His wife collected about $70,000 from their estate after she was released from prison in 2004.

In murder cases, someone can file a wrongful death lawsuit and get assets away from the perpetrator that way.

State law says that if spouses are convicted of murdering or attempting to murder their husband or wife, they are not entitled to reap any financial benefits during divorce proceedings. But if they hire someone else to do the dirty deed for them, their victims' assets are not protected.

The bill would amend the law to include husbands or wives who solicit the murder of their spouse.

Go read the whole thing. You can read more about the specific case cited in the article. Choose wisely!