Domestic violence observance held at SC Statehouse

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina is remembering people killed in domestic violence with a ceremony at the Statehouse.

The 17th annual Silent Witness Domestic Violence event Tuesday included 46 silhouettes representing the women and men killed by a loved one in 2013. It took Attorney General Alan Wilson 26 minutes to read the names and a short bit of information about each person.

A 47th wooden silhouette was included to honor unknown victims.

The Violence Policy Council says South Carolina ranks second in the nation in women killed by men in 2013. The state ranked first the year before and is almost always in the top five.

A Legislative committee is meeting Tuesday to try to craft a bill to help reduce domestic violence rates.