33-year-old Raul Barrera was arrested and charged with the stabbing murder of girlfriend Sarah Coit. (file/credit: CBS 2) Raul Barrera, 34, was arrested and charged with the stabbing murder of girlfriend Sarah Coit. (file/credit: CBS 2)

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Three New York legislators want the state to register domestic violence offenders just as sex crime offenders are publicly listed.

State Sen. Eric Adams, Assemblywoman Vanessa Gibson and Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries announced the proposed law on Sunday. It would require anyone convicted of domestic violence to be listed in a Domestic Violence Offender Database.

“We would duplicate the same process and the same type of software, so we already have the wheel invented – we’re just adding a new spoke on the wheel,” Sen. Adams said.

LISTEN: State Sen. Eric Adams explains to WCBS 880 how registry could work https://newyork.cbslocal.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/14578484/2011/04/1301495.mp3

Police say 23-year-old Sarah Coit was fatally stabbed and nearly decapitated last week during a domestic dispute with her boyfriend in their Lower East Side apartment. Authorities say the suspect in Coit’s death, Raul Barrera, has been linked to several violent incidents in the past. He pleaded guilty to smashing a man in the face with a bottle last year.

That information, Sen. Adams said, would have saved Coit’s life.

“This person has seven prior incidents of violence,” he said.

1010 WINS’ Sonia Rincon has more on Sen. Adams’ proposal https://newyork.cbslocal.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/14578484/2011/04/1301495.mp3

Barrera is charged with second-degree murder in his girlfriend’s death after turning himself in to police.

Adams said his bill to create the registry is the first of its kind of the nation, and that it’s getting bipartisan support in Albany.

What do you think of this proposed legislation? Tell us in our comments section.

(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)