Senate wants strangulation in domestic cases a felony

Arguing that the serious nature of strangling requires stronger penalties, the Ohio Senate on Wednesday voted to make it a felony when domestic violence involves forceful choking.

Prosecutors have said Ohio is one of only three states where strangling is not a felony, and the Ohio Senate unanimously approved a bill to change that.

Domestic violence incidents can be charged as felonies, but prosecutors argue it’s not a simple move because choking incidents often do not involve major external injuries, and both juries and medical experts can struggle to understand the internal trauma that strangling causes.

Not only is it abusive, but “strangulation lets the victim know that the perpetrator can end their life when they choose,” said Nancy Neylon, executive director of the Ohio Domestic Violence Network. She said it’s a power and control tactic “as the victim not only believes they are being killed but they feel deeply and justifiably terrified during the incident and for a long time afterward.”

Delaware County Prosecutor Carol O’Brien told lawmakers about an incident involving a drunken man who came home and slapped, kicked and choked his 36-week pregnant wife into unconsciousness after she rejected his demand for sex.

Under existing law, O’Brien said, that type of assault typically is charged as misdemeanor domestic violence with a maximum six months in jail.

To be labeled felonious assault would require the state to show that serious physical harm had occurred, which can require the state to hire an expert to review the case, O’Brien said. The bill would no longer require the hiring of experts to say that strangulation constitutes serious physical harm.

“Given that there is no genuine dispute as to the dangers of strangulation, the proposed legislation would be a welcome boon to prosecutors across the state,” O’Brien said.

Ohio Public Defender Tim Young’s office opposes Senate Bill 207, arguing the bill could lead to thousands more people charged with felonies, including incidents that result in little harm, and “will not deter future cases.”

“Current law is sufficient for handling these types of cases,” the office said. “If all the elements are not present, then the case should not be a felonious assault. ... In the cases where serious physical harm has occurred, prosecutors are free to charge strangulation cases accordingly.”

Under the bill, first-offense domestic violence involving strangling would be a thirddegree felony. Sponsored by Sen. Stephanie Kunze, R-Hilliard, the bill now goes to the House.

In other business, House Speaker Ryan Smith pulled a bill off Wednesday’s calendar that would set up a statewide system for tracking rape kits. The move came after Democrats prepared to offer amendments that would eliminate Ohio’s 20-year statute of limitations in cases of rape and sexual assault.

“I’m really disappointed because I feel like the Democrats put their amendments and politics ahead of the policy,” said Smith, R-Bidwell. He said he’s willing to discuss the statute of limitations, but it “is a very complex area that certainly doesn’t need to be brought up, from a process standpoint, on the House floor.”

House Democrats argue that a number of states have eliminated the statute of limitations on rape, and victims shouldn’t be pushed by an arbitrary timeline.

The House also introduced and immediately started hearings Wednesday on a resolution that seeks to steer people toward ballot issues that create new laws (initiated statutes) rather than constitutional amendments.

The proposal would simplify the process for collecting signatures for an initiated statute and prohibit lawmakers from changing the law for one year if the statute is approved. It also would raise the voting threshold to 60 percent for any future constitutional amendment to pass on the ballot.

“I’d like to see it passed, but there’s a lot of discussion to be had with it,” Smith said. “It’s really about protecting the Constitution.”