Two weeks ago, a coroner ruled Gabby Petito was strangled to death in a high-profile murder that seemingly captivated the nation.
If Petito happened to be in Ohio when she was fatally strangled, it would not be considered a felony. That’s because Ohio is one of only two states where strangulation is not a standalone felony. (Prosecutors in the other state, South Carolina, can couple it with other crimes).
Lawmakers in Ohio are trying to change that with “Aisha’s Law,” or House Bill 3. On Thursday, Aisha’s Law was approved by a House committee. It will be sent back to the Rules and Reference Committee due to an added appropriation, before it is sent to the House Finance Committee, and finally the Senate. A version of this bill passed the House last year, but failed in the Senate.
With some language changed, representatives are hoping that doesn’t happen again.
The current Aisha’s Law would:
- Expand the definition of domestic violence to include strangulation
- Increase domestic violence circumstances to the offense of aggravated murder
- Require police agencies to adopt rules and procedures for officers to screen victims of domestic violence using an evidence-based lethality assessment screening tool to determine if the case should be referred to local or regional domestic violence advocacy services
- Require the Ohio Attorney General to adopt rules to require every peace officer and trooper who handles domestic violence complaints to complete biennial professional training that includes, among other items, the referral of high-risk victims to a local or regional domestic violence advocacy service
- Request the Ohio Supreme Court review the Ohio Rules of Evidence to consider how the Rules may better aid victims of domestic violence without diminishing the fundamental fairness to alleged perpetrators of domestic violence
- Create the Domestic Violence Drop Policy Study Committee to examine policies to protect domestic violence victims throughout the judicial process
The bill would also allocate $150,000 to the Police Officers’ Training Academy Fee for the purpose of training police officers on how to respond to domestic violence calls.
According to Ohio Capital Journal, committee members made a change to the bill on Thursday to define the domestic violence strangulation provision as “knowingly impeding the normal breathing or blood circulation of a family or household member.” In previous versions of the bill, the language had specified the offense as “recklessly impeding normal breathing.”
The law is named for Aisha Fraser, a Cleveland-area teacher and mother of three who was killed by her ex-husband in November 2018. Lance Mason, a former judge and state legislator, had been abusing Fraser for years. He was previously sentenced to two years in prison for an attack on Fraser in front of their children, but a judge released him after 9 months. Then, during what was supposed to be a supervised exchange of their children, Mason stabbed Fraser to death, again in front of their children.
Senate Bill 90, a separate bill from Aisha’s Law that looks to make strangulation a felony, was proposed in the Ohio Senate in February 2021, but it is still in committee.
In April of this year, Washington became the first state to provide forensic nurses for examination of survivors of domestic violence who have been strangled. Before the bill was passed, forensic exams were only offered to victims of sexual assault. A strangulation survivor would have to pay thousands of dollars for an exam out-of-pocket.
Non-fatal strangulation is a form of domestic violence that survivors and advocates say can be overlooked, but is a huge red flag. According to the literature, a person who suffers from nonfatal strangulation is 750 percent more likely to become a homicide victim. But, strangulation—especially non-fatal—is hard to prosecute since it doesn’t always leave marks, like other physical violence.
Forensically, researchers are exploring the use of different wavelengths of light to better illuminate post-attack bruising on victims. In May 2020, for example, researchers at George Mason found that alternative light sources at 415 nm or 450 nm with a yellow filter revealed bruises at a rate 5x higher, across all skin tones, when compared with regular white light.
Photo: Aisha Fraser. Credit: Facebook