As Passed by the House 1
CORRECTED VERSION 3
123rd General Assembly 6
Regular Session Am. H.B. No. 162 7
1999-2000 8
REPRESENTATIVES SALERNO-BATEMAN-BENDER-BOGGS-BOYD-BRADING- 10
BRITTON-BUCHY-BUEHRER-CALLENDER-CATES-CLANCY-CORBIN-CORE- 11
COUGHLIN-DAMSCHRODER-EVANS-FORD-GERBERRY-GOODMAN-HAINES- 12
HARRIS-HOUSEHOLDER-JOLIVETTE-JONES-KREBS-KRUPINSKI-LOGAN-MAIER- 13
MEAD-METZGER-MOTTLEY-MYERS-O'BRIEN-OGG-OLMAN-OPFER-PADGETT- 14
PATTON-PERZ-PRINGLE-ROMAN-SCHULER-SCHURING-STAPLETON-SULZER- 15
SUTTON-TAYLOR-TERWILLEGER-THOMAS-TIBERI-VAN VYVEN-VESPER- 16
WILLAMOWSKI-WILLIAMS-WILSON-WINKLER-WOMER BENJAMIN-CAREY- 17
ALLEN-DePIERO-SULLIVAN-HOOPS-ROBERTS-BARNES-LUCAS-NETZLEY- 18
R.MILLER-SMITH 19
_________________________________________________________________ 20
A B I L L
To amend sections 2901.01 and 2903.02 and to enact 23
section 2903.15 of the Revised Code to expand the 24
offense of murder to also prohibit causing the
death of another as a proximate result of 25
committing a specified child abuse-related 26
offense, to create the offense of permitting
child abuse, and to include the new offense and 27
the offense of endangering children in certain
circumstances as offenses of violence. 28
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO: 30
Section 1. That sections 2901.01 and 2903.02 be amended 33
and section 2903.15 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as 34
follows:
Sec. 2901.01. (A) As used in the Revised Code: 43
(1) "Force" means any violence, compulsion, or constraint 45
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physically exerted by any means upon or against a person or 46
thing. 47
(2) "Deadly force" means any force that carries a 49
substantial risk that it will proximately result in the death of 50
any person. 51
(3) "Physical harm to persons" means any injury, illness, 53
or other physiological impairment, regardless of its gravity or 54
duration. 55
(4) "Physical harm to property" means any tangible or 57
intangible damage to property that, in any degree, results in 58
loss to its value or interferes with its use or enjoyment. 59
"Physical harm to property" does not include wear and tear 60
occasioned by normal use. 61
(5) "Serious physical harm to persons" means any of the 63
following: 64
(a) Any mental illness or condition of such gravity as 66
would normally require hospitalization or prolonged psychiatric 67
treatment; 68
(b) Any physical harm that carries a substantial risk of 70
death; 71
(c) Any physical harm that involves some permanent 73
incapacity, whether partial or total, or that involves some 74
temporary, substantial incapacity; 75
(d) Any physical harm that involves some permanent 77
disfigurement or that involves some temporary, serious 78
disfigurement; 79
(e) Any physical harm that involves acute pain of such 81
duration as to result in substantial suffering or that involves 82
any degree of prolonged or intractable pain. 83
(6) "Serious physical harm to property" means any physical 85
harm to property that does either of the following: 86
(a) Results in substantial loss to the value of the 88
property or requires a substantial amount of time, effort, or 89
money to repair or replace; 90
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(b) Temporarily prevents the use or enjoyment of the 92
property or substantially interferes with its use or enjoyment 93
for an extended period of time. 94
(7) "Risk" means a significant possibility, as contrasted 96
with a remote possibility, that a certain result may occur or 97
that certain circumstances may exist. 98
(8) "Substantial risk" means a strong possibility, as 100
contrasted with a remote or significant possibility, that a 101
certain result may occur or that certain circumstances may exist. 102
(9) "Offense of violence" means any of the following: 104
(a) A violation of section 2903.01, 2903.02, 2903.03, 106
2903.04, 2903.11, 2903.12, 2903.13, 2903.15, 2903.21, 2903.211, 107
2903.22, 2905.01, 2905.02, 2905.11, 2907.02, 2907.03, 2907.05, 109
2909.02, 2909.03, 2911.01, 2911.02, 2911.11, 2917.01, 2917.02, 110
2917.03, 2917.31, 2919.25, 2921.03, 2921.04, 2921.34, or 2923.161 111
or, of division (A)(1), (2), or (3) of section 2911.12, OR OF 112
DIVISION (B)(1), (2), (3), OR (4) OF SECTION 2919.22 of the 113
Revised Code or felonious sexual penetration in violation of 114
former section 2907.12 of the Revised Code; 115
(b) A violation of an existing or former municipal 117
ordinance or law of this or any other state or the United States, 118
substantially equivalent to any section, division, or offense 119
listed in division (A)(9)(a) of this section; 120
(c) An offense, other than a traffic offense, under an 122
existing or former municipal ordinance or law of this or any 123
other state or the United States, committed purposely or 124
knowingly, and involving physical harm to persons or a risk of 125
serious physical harm to persons; 126
(d) A conspiracy or attempt to commit, or complicity in 128
committing, any offense under division (A)(9)(a), (b), or (c) of 130
this section.
(10)(a) "Property" means any property, real or personal, 133
tangible or intangible, and any interest or license in that 134
property. "Property" includes, but is not limited to, cable
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television service, other telecommunications service, 135
telecommunications devices, information service, computers, data, 136
computer software, financial instruments associated with 137
computers, other documents associated with computers, or copies 138
of the documents, whether in machine or human readable form, 139
trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights, patents, and property 140
protected by a trademark, copyright, or patent. "Financial 141
instruments associated with computers" include, but are not 142
limited to, checks, drafts, warrants, money orders, notes of 143
indebtedness, certificates of deposit, letters of credit, bills 144
of credit or debit cards, financial transaction authorization 145
mechanisms, marketable securities, or any computer system 146
representations of any of them. 147
(b) As used in division (A)(10) of this section, "trade 149
secret" has the same meaning as in section 1333.61 of the Revised 150
Code, and "telecommunications service" and "information service" 151
have the same meanings as in section 2913.01 of the Revised Code. 152
(c) As used in divisions (A)(10) and (13) of this section, 154
"cable television service," "computer," "computer software," 155
"computer system," "computer network," "data," and
"telecommunications device" have the same meanings as in section 158
2913.01 of the Revised Code.
(11) "Law enforcement officer" means any of the following: 160
(a) A sheriff, deputy sheriff, constable, police officer 162
of a township or joint township police district, marshal, deputy 163
marshal, municipal police officer, member of a police force 164
employed by a metropolitan housing authority under division (D) 165
of section 3735.31 of the Revised Code, or state highway patrol 166
trooper; 167
(b) An officer, agent, or employee of the state or any of 169
its agencies, instrumentalities, or political subdivisions, upon 170
whom, by statute, a duty to conserve the peace or to enforce all 171
or certain laws is imposed and the authority to arrest violators 172
is conferred, within the limits of that statutory duty and 173
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authority; 174
(c) A mayor, in the mayor's capacity as chief conservator 176
of the peace within the mayor's municipal corporation; 177
(d) A member of an auxiliary police force organized by 179
county, township, or municipal law enforcement authorities, 180
within the scope of the member's appointment or commission; 181
(e) A person lawfully called pursuant to section 311.07 of 183
the Revised Code to aid a sheriff in keeping the peace, for the 184
purposes and during the time when the person is called; 185
(f) A person appointed by a mayor pursuant to section 187
737.01 of the Revised Code as a special patrolling officer during 189
riot or emergency, for the purposes and during the time when the 190
person is appointed;
(g) A member of the organized militia of this state or the 192
armed forces of the United States, lawfully called to duty to aid 193
civil authorities in keeping the peace or protect against 194
domestic violence; 195
(h) A prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting 197
attorney, secret service officer, or municipal prosecutor; 198
(i) An Ohio veterans' home police officer appointed under 200
section 5907.02 of the Revised Code; 201
(j) A member of a police force employed by a regional 203
transit authority under division (Y) of section 306.35 of the 204
Revised Code.
(12) "Privilege" means an immunity, license, or right 206
conferred by law, bestowed by express or implied grant, arising 208
out of status, position, office, or relationship, or growing out 209
of necessity.
(13) "Contraband" means any property described in the 211
following categories: 212
(a) Property that in and of itself is unlawful for a 214
person to acquire or possess; 215
(b) Property that is not in and of itself unlawful for a 217
person to acquire or possess, but that has been determined by a 218
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court of this state, in accordance with law, to be contraband 219
because of its use in an unlawful activity or manner, of its 220
nature, or of the circumstances of the person who acquires or 221
possesses it, including, but not limited to, goods and personal 222
property described in division (D) of section 2913.34 of the 223
Revised Code;
(c) Property that is specifically stated to be contraband 225
by a section of the Revised Code or by an ordinance, regulation, 226
or resolution; 227
(d) Property that is forfeitable pursuant to a section of 229
the Revised Code, or an ordinance, regulation, or resolution, 230
including, but not limited to, forfeitable firearms, dangerous 231
ordnance, obscene materials, and goods and personal property 233
described in division (D) of section 2913.34 of the Revised Code;
(e) Any controlled substance, as defined in section 235
3719.01 of the Revised Code, or any device, paraphernalia, money 236
as defined in section 1301.01 of the Revised Code, or other means 237
of exchange that has been, is being, or is intended to be used in 238
an attempt or conspiracy to violate, or in a violation of, 239
Chapter 2925. or 3719. of the Revised Code; 240
(f) Any gambling device, paraphernalia, money as defined 242
in section 1301.01 of the Revised Code, or other means of 243
exchange that has been, is being, or is intended to be used in an 244
attempt or conspiracy to violate, or in the violation of, Chapter 245
2915. of the Revised Code; 246
(g) Any equipment, machine, device, apparatus, vehicle, 248
vessel, container, liquid, or substance that has been, is being, 249
or is intended to be used in an attempt or conspiracy to violate, 250
or in the violation of, any law of this state relating to alcohol 251
or tobacco; 252
(h) Any personal property that has been, is being, or is 254
intended to be used in an attempt or conspiracy to commit, or in 255
the commission of, any offense or in the transportation of the 256
fruits of any offense; 257
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(i) Any property that is acquired through the sale or 259
other transfer of contraband or through the proceeds of 260
contraband, other than by a court or a law enforcement agency 261
acting within the scope of its duties; 262
(j) Any computer, computer system, computer network, 264
computer software, or other telecommunications device that is 265
used in a conspiracy to commit, an attempt to commit, or the 267
commission of any offense, if the owner of the computer, computer 268
system, computer network, computer software, or other 269
telecommunications device is convicted of or pleads guilty to the 271
offense in which it is used. 272
(14) A person is "not guilty by reason of insanity" 274
relative to a charge of an offense only if the person proves, in 275
the manner specified in section 2901.05 of the Revised Code, that 276
at the time of the commission of the offense, the person did not 277
know, as a result of a severe mental disease or defect, the 278
wrongfulness of the person's acts. 279
(B)(1)(a) Subject to division (B)(2) of this section, as 282
used in any section contained in Title XXIX of the Revised Code 283
that sets forth a criminal offense, "person" includes all of the 284
following:
(i) An individual, corporation, business trust, estate, 286
trust, partnership, and association; 287
(ii) An unborn human who is viable. 289
(b) As used in any section contained in Title XXIX of the 292
Revised Code that does not set forth a criminal offense, "person" 293
includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, 294
trust, partnership, and association.
(c) As used in division (B)(1)(a) of this section: 296
(i) "Unborn human" means an individual organism of the 298
species homo sapiens from fertilization until live birth. 299
(ii) "Viable" means the stage of development of a human 302
fetus at which there is a realistic possibility of maintaining
and nourishing of a life outside the womb with or without 303
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temporary artificial life-sustaining support. 304
(2) Notwithstanding division (B)(1)(a) of this section, in 306
no case shall the portion of the definition of the term "person" 307
that is set forth in division (B)(1)(a)(ii) of this section be 308
applied or construed in any section contained in Title XXIX of 309
the Revised Code that sets forth a criminal offense in any of the 310
following manners:
(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (B)(2)(a) of 312
this section, in a manner so that the offense prohibits or is 313
construed as prohibiting any pregnant woman or her physician from 314
performing an abortion with the consent of the pregnant woman, 315
with the consent of the pregnant woman implied by law in a 316
medical emergency, or with the approval of one otherwise 317
authorized by law to consent to medical treatment on behalf of
the pregnant woman. An abortion that violates the conditions 318
described in the immediately preceding sentence may be punished 319
as a violation of section 2903.01, 2903.02, 2903.03, 2903.04, 320
2903.05, 2903.06, 2903.07, 2903.08, 2903.11, 2903.12, 2903.13, 321
2903.14, 2903.21, or 2903.22 of the Revised Code, as applicable. 322
An abortion that does not violate the conditions described in the 323
second immediately preceding sentence, but that does violate
section 2919.12, division (B) of section 2919.13, section 324
2919.15, 2919.17, or 2919.18 of the Revised Code, may be punished 325
as a violation of section 2919.12, division (B) of section 326
2919.13, section 2919.15, 2919.17, or 2919.18 of the Revised 327
Code, as applicable. Consent is sufficient under this division 328
if it is of the type otherwise adequate to permit medical 329
treatment to the pregnant woman, even if it does not comply with 330
section 2919.12 of the Revised Code.
(b) In a manner so that the offense is applied or is 333
construed as applying to a woman based on an act or omission of
the woman that occurs while she is or was pregnant and that 334
results in any of the following: 335
(i) Her delivery of a stillborn baby; 337
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(ii) Her causing, in any other manner, the death in utero 340
of a viable, unborn human that she is carrying;
(iii) Her causing the death of her child who is born alive 343
but who dies from one or more injuries that are sustained while
the child is a viable, unborn human; 344
(iv) Her causing her child who is born alive to sustain 347
one or more injuries while the child is a viable, unborn human;
(v) Her causing, threatening to cause, or attempting to 350
cause, in any other manner, an injury, illness, or other
physiological impairment, regardless of its duration or gravity, 351
or a mental illness or condition, regardless of its duration or 352
gravity, to a viable, unborn human that she is carrying. 353
Sec. 2903.02. (A) No person shall purposely cause the 362
death of another or the unlawful termination of another's 363
pregnancy.
(B) No person shall cause the death of another as a 365
proximate result of the offender's committing or attempting to 366
commit an ANY OF THE FOLLOWING: 367
(1) AN offense of violence that is a felony of the first 370
or second degree and that is not a violation of section 2903.03 371
or 2903.04 of the Revised Code;
(2) A VIOLATION OF DIVISION (B)(1), (2), (3), OR (4) OF 373
SECTION 2919.22 OF THE REVISED CODE. 374
(C) Division (B)(1) of this section does not apply to an 376
offense that becomes a felony of the first or second degree only 377
if the offender previously has been convicted of that offense or 379
another specified offense. 380
(D) Whoever violates this section is guilty of murder, and 382
shall be punished as provided in section 2929.02 of the Revised 383
Code.
Sec. 2903.15. (A) NO PARENT, GUARDIAN, CUSTODIAN, OR 385
PERSON HAVING CUSTODY OF A CHILD UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE OR 387
OF A MENTALLY OR PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED CHILD UNDER TWENTY-ONE 388
YEARS OF AGE SHALL CAUSE SERIOUS PHYSICAL HARM TO THE CHILD, OR
10
THE DEATH OF THE CHILD, AS A PROXIMATE RESULT OF PERMITTING THE 390
CHILD TO BE ABUSED, TO BE TORTURED, TO BE ADMINISTERED CORPORAL 391
PUNISHMENT OR OTHER PHYSICAL DISCIPLINARY MEASURE, OR TO BE 392
PHYSICALLY RESTRAINED IN A CRUEL MANNER OR FOR A PROLONGED 393
PERIOD.
(B) IT IS AN AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE TO A CHARGE UNDER THIS 395
SECTION THAT THE DEFENDANT DID NOT HAVE READILY AVAILABLE A MEANS 396
TO PREVENT THE HARM TO THE CHILD OR THE DEATH OF THE CHILD AND 397
THAT THE DEFENDANT TOOK TIMELY AND REASONABLE STEPS TO SUMMON 399
AID.
(C) WHOEVER VIOLATES THIS SECTION IS GUILTY OF PERMITTING 401
CHILD ABUSE. IF THE VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION CAUSES SERIOUS 402
PHYSICAL HARM TO THE CHILD, PERMITTING CHILD ABUSE IS A FELONY OF 403
THE THIRD DEGREE. IF THE VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION CAUSES THE 404
DEATH OF THE CHILD, PERMITTING CHILD ABUSE IS A FELONY OF THE 405
FIRST DEGREE.
Section 2. That existing sections 2901.01 and 2903.02 of 407
the Revised Code are hereby repealed. 408