Since he's been violent for 8 years, just be aware of what's ahead of you: change is highly unlikely, and IF he chooses he change, it's going to be a long and bumpy road ahead - years ahead of this. Do you really want that for yourself? Have you read any case studies of violent men changing their ways after therapy? Is he even willing to go to therapy? I would think the best solution, if you really wanted this to work, is to separate, tell him that he must attend anger management classes and couples therapy and admit his problems, give it a year and see if you see any changes.