Mary Babb was shot to death last month outside the offices of the Morning Sun newspaper in Mount Pleasant. Her husband, Thomas Daniel Babb, has been charged with murder in the case.
Police said Mary Babb had obtained a personal protection order against Thomas Babb. He was free on bond after being charged with beating and sexually assaulting his wife.

Caul said the case is evidence that personal protection orders and pending charges aren't strong enough deterrents in some cases.

"This is designed as another tool to help protect victims of domestic violence," Caul said. "Hopefully it would provide some comfort and peace of mind."

Spokespeople for Gov. Jennifer Granholm and House Democrats said Monday they will review the legislation when it is introduced.

The legislation would give judges discretion on whether to require defendants in domestic abuse cases to wear tethered global positioning system devices. It could be ordered as a condition of bail while they await trial, Caul said.

The device would be calibrated to send an alarm when they got within a certain distance of the victim, who would carry a small receiver for the signal. Caul said that could give victims time to call the police or seek other help.

It was unclear Monday how much the system would cost, but Caul said the defendants in cases where the technology was ordered would be expected to pay for it.

A recent law passed in Massachusetts allows judges to order GPS tracking in cases where domestic abusers have violated existing restraining orders