Murder in Ohio law

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Murder in Ohio law constitutes the unlawful killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Ohio.

Contents

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]

Definitions

Murder

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 without the possibility of parole . [3] [4] [5]

Aggravated murder

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]

Penalties

The penalties for homicide offenses in Ohio are listed below. [9]

OffenseMandatory sentence
Negligent homicide Up to 6 months in jail
Reckless homicide 9 months to 3 years in prison
Involuntary manslaughter as a third-degree felony
Aggravated vehicular homicide 3 to 21 years in prison
Involuntary manslaughter as a first-degree felony
Voluntary manslaughter
Murder 15 years in prison to life-without-parole
Aggravated murder For adults: Death ( de jure ) [a] or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole

For juveniles: Life-with-parole after 25 to 30 years

Notes

  1. ↑ Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has set a moratorium on Ohio's death penalty.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder</span> Unlawful killing of a human with malice aforethought

Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. This state of mind may, depending upon the jurisdiction, distinguish murder from other forms of unlawful homicide, such as manslaughter. Manslaughter is killing committed in the absence of malice, such as in the case of voluntary manslaughter brought about by reasonable provocation, or diminished capacity. Involuntary manslaughter, where it is recognized, is a killing that lacks all but the most attenuated guilty intent, recklessness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in Ohio</span>

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Ohio, although all executions have been suspended indefinitely by Governor Mike DeWine until a replacement for lethal injection is chosen by the Ohio General Assembly. The last execution in the state was in July 2018, when Robert J. Van Hook was executed via lethal injection for murder.

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.

Capital murder refers to a category of murder in some parts of the US for which the perpetrator is eligible for the death penalty. In its original sense, capital murder was a statutory offence of aggravated murder in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland, which was later adopted as a legal provision to define certain forms of aggravated murder in the United States. Some jurisdictions that provide for death as a possible punishment for murder, such as California, do not have a specific statute creating or defining a crime known as capital murder; instead, death is one of the possible sentences for certain kinds of murder. In these cases, "capital murder" is not a phrase used in the legal system but may still be used by others such as the media.

Terms such as menacing, brandishment or brandishing refer to criminal offenses in many U.S. states which are generally defined as displaying a weapon with the intent of placing another person in fear of imminent physical injury or death.

The term “brandish” means, with respect to a firearm, to display all or part of the firearm, or otherwise make the presence of the firearm known to another person, in order to intimidate that person, regardless of whether the firearm is directly visible to that person.
— 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(4).

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.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Missouri. On a per capita basis, it ranks third in executions, behind Oklahoma and Texas.

Murder in Arkansas law constitutes the intentional killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Arkansas.

Murder in Colorado law constitutes the unlawful killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Colorado.

Murder in Florida law constitutes the intentional killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Florida.

Murder in New Jersey law constitutes the intentional killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of New Jersey.

Murder in Utah law constitutes the unlawful and intentional killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Utah. Utah law categorizes homicide offenses into various kinds with specific criteria, each carrying specific penalties.

Murder in Delaware law 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 law constitutes the killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Georgia.

Murder in Minnesota law 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 law 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 law 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 Missouri law constitutes the killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Missouri.

References

  1. ↑ "National Center for Health Statistics: Homicide Mortality by State". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Section 2903.02 - Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws". codes.ohio.gov. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Section 2929.02 - Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws". codes.ohio.gov. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Section 2967.13 - Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws". codes.ohio.gov. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Ohio Second-Degree Murder Laws". FindLaw.
  6. ↑ "Section 2903.01 - Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws". codes.ohio.gov. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Section 2929.02 - Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws". codes.ohio.gov. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  8. ↑ Urell, Aaryn (January 13, 2021). "Ohio Abolishes Life Without Parole for Children, Joining 23 Other States". Equal Justice Initiative. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Chapter 2903 - Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws". codes.ohio.gov. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
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