Murder in Ohio constitutes the unlawful killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Ohio.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that in the year 2021, the state had a murder rate somewhat above the median for the entire country. [1]
Standard murder in Ohio is the second-most serious homicide offense, which constitutes when someone purposely causes the death of another person without justification, or the unlawful termination of another person's pregnancy.
Ohio's felony murder rule constitutes when someone commits a first- or second-degree felony, besides voluntary or involuntary manslaughter, in the course of or causing another person's death. [2]
Standard murder in Ohio has a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 25 years. [3] [4] [5]
Aggravated murder in Ohio is the most serious homicide offense in Ohio, which constitutes when someone purposely causes the death of another person or an unlawful termination of another's pregnancy under one of the following aggravated circumstances:
Aggravated murder in Ohio is punishable for adult offenders by either life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, though incumbent governor Mike DeWine has put a moratorium on the death penalty in Ohio until the state can institute an execution method other than lethal injection. [7] For juvenile offenders, it is punishable only by life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 25 to 30 years. [8]
The penalties for homicide offenses in Ohio are listed below. [9]
| Offense | Mandatory sentence |
|---|---|
| Negligent homicide | Up to 6 months in jail |
| Reckless homicide | 9 months to 3 years in prison |
| Second-degree involuntary manslaughter | |
| Aggravated vehicular homicide | 3 to 21 years in prison |
| First-degree involuntary manslaughter | |
| Voluntary manslaughter | |
| Murder | 15 years in prison to life-with-parole after 25 years |
| Aggravated murder | For adults: Death ( de jure ) [lower-alpha 1] or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole For juveniles: Life-with-parole after 25 to 30 years |
A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law to describe an offense that resulted in the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods, to which additional punishments including capital punishment could be added; other crimes were called misdemeanors. Following conviction of a felony in a court of law, a person may be described as a felon or a convicted felon.
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted criminals are to remain in prison for the rest of their lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or commuted to a fixed term. Crimes that warrant life imprisonment are usually violent and/or dangerous. Examples of crimes that result in life sentences are murder, torture, terrorism, child abuse resulting in death, rape, espionage, treason, drug trafficking, drug possession, human trafficking, severe fraud and financial crimes, aggravated criminal damage, arson, kidnapping, burglary, and robbery, piracy, aircraft hijacking, and genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, severe cases of child pornography, or any three felonies in the case of a three-strikes law.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Utah.
Vehicular homicide is a crime that involves the death of a person other than the driver as a result of either criminally negligent or murderous operation of a motor vehicle.
The rule of felony murder is a legal doctrine in some common law jurisdictions that broadens the crime of murder: when someone is killed in the commission of a dangerous or enumerated crime, the offender, and also the offender's accomplices or co-conspirators, may be found guilty of murder.
Resisting arrest, or simply resisting, is an illegal act of a suspected criminal either fleeing, threatening, assaulting, or providing a fake ID to a police officer during arrest. In most cases, the person responsible for resisting arrest is criminally charged or taken to court. In fewer, they are killed.
Menacing or brandishing is a criminal offense in many U.S. states generally defined as displaying a weapon with the intent of placing another person in fear of imminent physical injury or death. Depending on state, degrees of offense range from a misdemeanor for first-time offenders, to low- to mid-level felonies for offenders with a prior menacing charge. Self-defense is often explicitly given as an exception.
In the United States, the law for murder varies by jurisdiction. In many US jurisdictions there is a hierarchy of acts, known collectively as homicide, of which first-degree murder and felony murder are the most serious, followed by second-degree murder and, in a few states, third-degree murder, which in other states is divided into voluntary manslaughter, and involuntary manslaughter such as reckless homicide and negligent homicide, which are the least serious, and ending finally in justifiable homicide, which is not a crime. However, because there are at least 52 relevant jurisdictions, each with its own criminal code, this is a considerable simplification.
Manslaughter is a crime in the United States. Definitions can vary among jurisdictions, but manslaughter is invariably the act of causing the death of another person in a manner less culpable than murder. Three types of unlawful killings constitute manslaughter. First, there is voluntary manslaughter which is an intentional homicide committed in "sudden heat of passion" as the result of adequate provocation. Second, there is the form of involuntary manslaughter which is an unintentional homicide that was committed in a criminally negligent manner. Finally, there is the form of involuntary manslaughter which is an unintentional homicide that occurred during the commission or attempted commission of an unlawful act which does not amount to a felony.
Capital punishment in Missouri first used in 1810 is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Missouri.
Murder in Arizona constitutes the intentional killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Arizona.
Murder in Wisconsin constitutes the intentional killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Wisconsin.
Murder in Delaware constitutes the unlawful killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Delaware.
Murder in Georgia constitutes the killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Georgia.
Murder in Indiana constitutes the intentional killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Indiana.
Murder in Minnesota constitutes the killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Minnesota.
Murder in New York constitutes the unlawful killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of New York. Because the criminal law of the state also governs the City of New York, there is not a separate law applicable to murders committed in the city.
Murder in Tennessee constitutes the unlawful killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Tennessee.
Murder in Nevada constitutes the unlawful killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Nevada.