Jury's verdict in Socastee slaying continues to evoke reaction

A 'CASA' sign.

By: Aisha Khan | SCNow
Published: March 11, 2010

MYRTLE BEACH — The trial of an accused Socastee killer may be over, but reaction to the jury’s verdict continued Wednesday.

A jury convicted Asghar Eliaderani, 56, guilty of involuntary manslaughter in his wife’s slaying Tuesday. That carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Eliaderani’s attorneys said their client does not deserve to go to prison, while the state wanted him convicted of a stronger charge.

The group Citizens Against Spouse Abuse (CASA) agrees with the state saying that the punishment does not fit the crime.

“There is an imbalance when cruelty to an animal can carry a larger sentence and people can serve more time than cruelty to a human being,” CASA director JoAnne Patterson said. “And it doesn’t make sense to me,that there are people who are spending time in jail for paper crimes, for bouncing a check, and that’s bad, breaking the law but what kind of a message does it send out?”

Assistant 15th Circuit Solicitor Brad Richardson, who represented Eliaderani’s children, said although the law is the law, it doesn’t mask the fact that domestic violence is a serious crime that mostly goes unnoticed.

“Most of these abusers are cowards. They can’t stand up under the light of the day and so they hide behind the doors,” Richardson said. “And they inflict their trauma not just upon the wife or the husband, but on all those family members. Those kids (Tina and Justin Abbasi, children of Eliaderani’s victim Farrah Abbasi) spoke loud and clear (about) what they suffered through.”

Both Patterson and Richardson said they aren’t sure if the tragedy could have been prevented, but the key to combating domestic violence is knowing how and when to stop it.

“While their mother maybe gone, that love will never go away,” Richardson said. “And what we need to take away from this is that domestic violence should be addressed as soon as possible in the relationship, otherwise it’s a sore that festers and gets worse and worse.”

CASA encourages anyone dealing with domestic violence to seek help from them or from any other organization that provides shelter and assistance to victims. CASA’s 24-Hour Crisis line is (843) 448-6206.