LEXINGTON COUNTY, SC — The SC Attorney General’s office announced Friday that it will open a new Criminal Domestic Violence court in Batesburg-Leesville in January.

It will be the fourth domestic violence court to be run by the office.

The new court will be conducted the third Wednesday of each month. The arrangement allows a single judge to oversee all such cases in Batesburg-Leesville.

Batesburg-Leesville was chosen as the location for the special court after informal discussions with Sistercare, a private organization that advocates for and provides services to domestic violence victims, said Mark Powell, spokesman for the Attorney General.

Annual figures released by the national Violence Policy Center said South Carolina was the No. 2 state in the nation last year in the rate at which women were killed by men.

Rachael Myers Lowe