Pro-life Mississippi lawmaker punches wife in the face for not undressing quickly enough when he wanted sex
A Mississippi lawmaker was arrested and is facing a domestic violence charge after his wife accused him of punching her because she didn't undress fast enough when he wanted to have sex.
According to The Sun Herald, who cited an investigative report filed with the George County Sheriff's Department, deputies visited the residence of 58-year-old State Rep. Douglas McLeod shortly before 9 pm on Saturday, May 18 on reports of a domestic assault.
On arrival, they found McLeod intoxicated and holding a glass of alcohol in his hand, with a description by the deputies stating he had "slurred speech and walked slowly in a zigzag pattern."
They also said he was so inebriated, he had to grab a handrail to maintain his balance.
The 58-year-old reportedly tried telling the officers that everything was okay, but that, when they went inside, they saw two women standing at the top of a stairwell who looked "frightened." His wife then came outside, but only after receiving assurances from that her husband would be kept away from her.
One of the deputies said she was "shaking and upset" and that she told them her husband was drunk and "just snapped" when she did not take her clothes off quickly enough. She said he often lost his temper when he was under the influence of alcohol.
The other woman, who also lived at the home, told the officers the victim had come running to her room, her face bloodied, and that she had shut the door and locked it quickly after letting her inside. She said McLeod had then begun banging on the door and threatened her by telling her that, if she didn't open it, he would "kill her (expletive) dog."
Over the course of their investigation, they found further evidence that corroborated the claims that she had been assaulted, including blood on the couple's bed and on the floor in the same room. They wrote in their report that McLeod had punched his wife in the face, bloodying her nose.
McLeod was subsequently taken into custody on a charge of misdemeanor domestic violence and booked into the George County Jail. He was later released after posting a $1,000 signature bond.
The 58-year-old's arrest once again highlights the hypocrisy in the "pro-life" stance championed by lawmakers such as himself.
A representative of District 107, McLeod was first elected to the chamber in 2011.
This past February, he voted to pass Senate Bill 2116, a fetal heartbeat law that makes abortions illegal as soon as the embryo's or fetus' heartbeat can be detected — which can usually be first detected at about six to seven weeks into the pregnancy.
The bill was signed into law by Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant this past March, making the state one of four, including Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio, to have effectively banned abortions in 2019.
The 58-year-old's domestic violence charge comes less than two months after that bill's controversial signing.
McLeod's arrest saw state Sen. David Blount first call for his resignation, with House Speaker Philip Gunn also addressing the issue and saying, "I have attempted to contact Rep. McLeod to request his resignation, if, in fact, these allegations are true. These actions are unacceptable for anyone."