Dad sentenced for stabbing mom in front of kids (Racine, Wisconsin)

Dad JAMES H. GRIFFIN pleaded guilty and has been sentenced to 45 years.

http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/131917788.html

Racine father sentenced for stabbing child's mother
By Michele Fiore

CREATED Oct. 15, 2011

RACINE, Wis. (AP) - A 26-year-old Racine man who pleaded guilty to slashing his children's mother with a knife has been sentenced to 45 years in prison.

Prosecutor Randy Schneider says James H. Griffin attempted to kill the woman. Schneider says if bystanders hadn't intervened, this would have been a murder case.

Griffin apologized to the victim and his kids before Friday's sentencing.

Prosecutors say Griffin was attacking the 21-year-old woman in 2009. They say two witnesses stepped in and Griffin threatened them with a knife.

The criminal complaint says the victim tried to stagger away but Griffin pursued her and slashed her throat, as their children watched. The complaint says the witnesses chased him away.

A Journal Times of Racine report says the victim was satisfied with the sentence.