On Tuesday, a new law took effect in Ohio that makes strangulation a felony offense. Up until that time, Ohio was the only state in the U.S. that failed to recognize the potentially deadly crime as a felony.
The law was signed by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine in early January, with a 90-day effect rule in place. It was part of Senate Bill 288, a sweeping bill that covers everything from criminal justice reforms and sexual assault kits to distracted driving and drug offenses in its 500 pages.
As of April 4, 2023 in the state of Ohio, an individual is guilty of strangulation if they cause serious physical harm or cause a substantial risk of serious physical harm to another person by means of strangulation or suffocation. Now, strangulation can be charged as a second-degree, fourth-degree or fifth-degree felony.
According to the Domestic Violence Division of the Columbus City (Ohio) Attorney’s Office, in 2018, approximately 20% of an estimated 3,200 domestic violence cases involved strangulation or suffocation. Extrapolating that number to cover the entire state rather than just Columbus City—so 20% of about 38,000 charges—suggests that thousands of previously misdemeanor domestic violence cases involving strangulation or suffocation can now be charged as a felony.
State Senator Stephanie Kunze (R-Hilliard) says she has been working to pass the bill since 2015. In fact, the law was originally in Senate Bill 90, but eventually moved to Senate Bill 288 as the bill became more inundated with criminal justice proposals.
There was also another, similar bill—House Bill 3, or Aisha’s Law—first proposed in 2019, and eventually passed in 2021. The bill is named for Aisha Fraser, a Cleveland-area teacher and mother of three who was killed by her ex-husband, Lance Mason, in November 2018. Police records show Mason was abusing Fraser for years, including multiple non-fatal strangulations. Eventually, Mason was 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.
While non-fatal strangulation is a form of domestic violence that survivors and advocates say can be overlooked, research has shown it is a huge red flag. According to the literature, a person who suffers from non-fatal strangulation is 750% more likely to become a homicide victim.
Advocates of Senate Bill 288 are happy, if not critical of how long and hard they have had to fight to make the new strangulation law a reality. Ruth Downing, a forensic nurse who started the nonprofit Forensic Nursing Network, told ABC News she fought for 20 years to make strangulation a felony but the new law is not enough. She was disappointed language to require law enforcement officers to provide a lethality assessment to victims and direct them to medical care was not included.
While manual strangulation marks are rare, the attack can lead to serious, permanent injuries to the blood vessels, vocal cords and spinal cord in the long-term. As part of Senate Bill 288, DeWine also put into law the establishment of domestic violence fatality review boards, which would explore ways to reduce domestic violence deaths.
Additionally, the bill states that sexual assault victims are not required to pay for law enforcement/forensic services related to the crime perpetuated against them, including a rape kit. The bill also requires any rape kits stored but not tested to be submitted to a crime lab for testing within 30 days.
In terms of criminal law, the bill changes a number of sealing and expungement provisions, increases the maximum amount of earned credit for persons in prison, and enhances the penalties for distracted driving. Lastly, the bill removes the possession of fentanyl drug testing strips from the definition of “illegal use or possession of drug paraphernalia.”