As Reported by the House Criminal Justice Committee
132nd General Assembly
Regular Session Sub. H. B. No. 38
2017-2018
Representative Greenspan
Cosponsors: Representatives Anielski, Barnes, Goodman, Keller, Kick, Lipps, Patton, Perales, Riedel, Retherford, Sprague, Thompson, Wiggam, Young, Manning, Rezabek
A BILL
To amend sections 2903.01, 2903.11, and 2923.02 of the Revised Code to provide that purposely causing the death of a first responder or military member is aggravated murder and to require an offender to serve a mandatory prison term for certain types of felonious assault or attempted aggravated murder when the victim is a first responder or military member.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 2903.01, 2903.11, and 2923.02 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 2903.01. (A) No person shall purposely, and with prior calculation and design, cause the death of another or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy.
(B) No person shall purposely cause the death of another or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy while committing or attempting to commit, or while fleeing immediately after committing or attempting to commit, kidnapping, rape, aggravated arson, arson, aggravated robbery, robbery, aggravated burglary, burglary, trespass in a habitation when a person is present or likely to be present, terrorism, or escape.
(C) No person shall purposely cause the death of another who is under thirteen years of age at the time of the commission of the offense.
(D) No person who is under detention as a result of having been found guilty of or having pleaded guilty to a felony or who breaks that detention shall purposely cause the death of another.
(E) No person shall purposely cause the death of a law enforcement officer whom the offender knows or has reasonable cause to know is a law enforcement officer when either of the following applies:
(1) The victim, at the time of the commission of the offense, is engaged in the victim's duties.
(2) It is the offender's specific purpose to kill a law enforcement officer.
(F) No person shall purposely cause the death of a first responder or military member whom the offender knows or has reasonable cause to know is a first responder or military member when it is the offender's specific purpose to kill a first responder or military member.
(G) Whoever violates this section is guilty of aggravated murder, and shall be punished as provided in section 2929.02 of the Revised Code.
(G)
(H)
As used in this section:
(1) "Detention" has the same meaning as in section 2921.01 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Law enforcement officer" has the same meaning as in section 2911.01 of the Revised Code and also includes any federal law enforcement officer as defined in section 2921.51 of the Revised Code and anyone who has previously served as a law enforcement officer or federal law enforcement officer.
(3) "First responder" means an emergency medical service provider, a firefighter, or any other emergency response personnel, or anyone who has previously served as a first responder.
(4) "Military member" means a member of the armed forces of the United States, reserves, or Ohio national guard, a participant in ROTC, JROTC, or any similar military training program, or anyone who has previously served in the military.
Sec. 2903.11. (A) No person shall knowingly do either of the following:
(1) Cause serious physical harm to another or to another's unborn;
(2) Cause or attempt to cause physical harm to another or to another's unborn by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance.
(B) No person, with knowledge that the person has tested positive as a carrier of a virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, shall knowingly do any of the following:
(1) Engage in sexual conduct with another person without disclosing that knowledge to the other person prior to engaging in the sexual conduct;
(2) Engage in sexual conduct with a person whom the offender knows or has reasonable cause to believe lacks the mental capacity to appreciate the significance of the knowledge that the offender has tested positive as a carrier of a virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome;
(3) Engage in sexual conduct with a person under eighteen years of age who is not the spouse of the offender.
(C) The prosecution of a person under this section does not preclude prosecution of that person under section 2907.02 of the Revised Code.
(D)(1)(a) Whoever violates this section is guilty of felonious assault. Except as otherwise provided in this division or division (D)(1)(b), (c), or (d) of this section, felonious assault is a felony of the second degree. If the victim of a violation of division (A) of this section is a peace officer or an investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, felonious assault is a felony of the first degree.
(b) Regardless of whether the felonious assault is a felony of the first or second degree under division (D)(1)(a) of this section, if the offender also is convicted of or pleads guilty to a specification as described in section 2941.1423 of the Revised Code that was included in the indictment, count in the indictment, or information charging the offense, except as otherwise provided in this division or unless a longer prison term is required under any other provision of law, the court shall sentence the offender to a mandatory prison term as provided in division (B)(8) of section 2929.14 of the Revised Code. If the victim of the offense is a peace officer or an investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, and if the victim suffered serious physical harm as a result of the commission of the offense, felonious assault is a felony of the first degree, and the court, pursuant to division (F) of section 2929.13 of the Revised Code, shall impose as a mandatory prison term one of the prison terms prescribed for a felony of the first degree.
(c) If the victim of a violation of division (A) of this section is a first responder or military member and the victim was specifically targeted for being a first responder or military member, felonious assault is a felony of the first degree.
(d) If the victim of a violation of division (A) of this section is a first responder or military member, the victim was specifically targeted for being a first responder or military member, and the victim suffered serious physical harm as a result of the commission of the offense, felonious assault is a felony of the first degree, and the court, pursuant to division (F) of section 2929.13 of the Revised Code, shall impose as a mandatory prison term one of the prison terms prescribed for a felony of the first degree.
(2) In addition to any other sanctions imposed pursuant to division (D)(1) of this section for felonious assault committed in violation of division (A)(2) of this section, if the deadly weapon used in the commission of the violation is a motor vehicle, the court shall impose upon the offender a class two suspension of the offender's driver's license, commercial driver's license, temporary instruction permit, probationary license, or nonresident operating privilege as specified in division (A)(2) of section 4510.02 of the Revised Code.
(E) As used in this section:
(1) "Deadly weapon" and "dangerous ordnance" have the same meanings as in section 2923.11 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Motor vehicle" has the same meaning as in section 4501.01 of the Revised Code.
(3) "Peace officer" has the same meaning as in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code and also includes any federal law enforcement officer as defined in section 2921.51 of the Revised Code and anyone who has previously served as a peace officer or federal law enforcement officer.
(4) "Sexual conduct" has the same meaning as in section 2907.01 of the Revised Code, except that, as used in this section, it does not include the insertion of an instrument, apparatus, or other object that is not a part of the body into the vaginal or anal opening of another, unless the offender knew at the time of the insertion that the instrument, apparatus, or other object carried the offender's bodily fluid.
(5) "Investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation" means an investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation who is commissioned by the superintendent of the bureau as a special agent for the purpose of assisting law enforcement officers or providing emergency assistance to peace officers pursuant to authority granted under section 109.541 of the Revised Code.
(6) "Investigator" has the same meaning as in section 109.541 of the Revised Code.
(7) "First responder" has the same meaning as in section 2903.01 of the Revised Code.
(8) "Military member" has the same meaning as in section 2903.01 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 2923.02. (A) No person, purposely or knowingly, and when purpose or knowledge is sufficient culpability for the commission of an offense, shall engage in conduct that, if successful, would constitute or result in the offense.
(B) It is no defense to a charge under this section that, in retrospect, commission of the offense that was the object of the attempt was either factually or legally impossible under the attendant circumstances, if that offense could have been committed had the attendant circumstances been as the actor believed them to be.
(C) No person who is convicted of committing a specific offense, of complicity in the commission of an offense, or of conspiracy to commit an offense shall be convicted of an attempt to commit the same offense in violation of this section.
(D) It is an affirmative defense to a charge under this section that the actor abandoned the actor's effort to commit the offense or otherwise prevented its commission, under circumstances manifesting a complete and voluntary renunciation of the actor's criminal purpose.
(E)(1) Whoever violates this section is guilty of an attempt to commit an offense. An attempt to commit aggravated murder, murder, or an offense for which the maximum penalty is imprisonment for life is a felony of the first degree. An attempt to commit a drug abuse offense for which the penalty is determined by the amount or number of unit doses of the controlled substance involved in the drug abuse offense is an offense of the same degree as the drug abuse offense attempted would be if that drug abuse offense had been committed and had involved an amount or number of unit doses of the controlled substance that is within the next lower range of controlled substance amounts than was involved in the attempt. An attempt to commit any other offense is an offense of the next lesser degree than the offense attempted. In the case of an attempt to commit an offense other than a violation of Chapter 3734. of the Revised Code that is not specifically classified, an attempt is a misdemeanor of the first degree if the offense attempted is a felony, and a misdemeanor of the fourth degree if the offense attempted is a misdemeanor. In the case of an attempt to commit a violation of any provision of Chapter 3734. of the Revised Code, other than section 3734.18 of the Revised Code, that relates to hazardous wastes, an attempt is a felony punishable by a fine of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars or imprisonment for not more than eighteen months, or both. An attempt to commit a minor misdemeanor, or to engage in conspiracy, is not an offense under this section.
(2) If a person is convicted of or pleads guilty to attempted rape and also is convicted of or pleads guilty to a specification of the type described in section 2941.1418, 2941.1419, or 2941.1420 of the Revised Code, the offender shall be sentenced to a prison term or term of life imprisonment pursuant to section 2971.03 of the Revised Code.
(3) In addition to any other sanctions imposed pursuant to division (E)(1) of this section for an attempt to commit aggravated murder or murder in violation of division (A) of this section, if the offender used a motor vehicle as the means to attempt to commit the offense, the court shall impose upon the offender a class two suspension of the offender's driver's license, commercial driver's license, temporary instruction permit, probationary license, or nonresident operating privilege as specified in division (A)(2) of section 4510.02 of the Revised Code.
(4) If a person is convicted of or found guilty of an attempt to commit aggravated murder of the type described in division (E) or (F) of section 2903.01 of the Revised Code, the court shall impose as a mandatory prison term one of the prison terms prescribed for a felony of the first degree.
(F) As used in this section:
(1) "Drug abuse offense" has the same meaning as in section 2925.01 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Motor vehicle" has the same meaning as in section 4501.01 of the Revised Code.
Section 2. That existing sections 2903.01, 2903.11, and 2923.02 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Section 3. Section 2923.02 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite of the section as amended by both Am. Sub. H.B. 461 and Am. Sub. S.B. 260 of the 126th General Assembly. The General Assembly, applying the principle stated in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation, finds that the composite is the resulting version of the section in effect prior to the effective date of the section as presented in this act.