As Introduced

128th General Assembly
Regular Session
2009-2010
H. B. No. 89


Representative Zehringer 

Cosponsors: Representatives Adams, R., Derickson, Hite, Huffman, Bacon, Stebelton, Combs, Stautberg, McGregor, Jordan, Daniels, Balderson, Blair 

A BILL
To amend sections 2903.01, 2903.11, 2903.12, 2903.13, 1
2903.21, 2921.01, 2921.03, 2921.05, and 2929.04 of 2
the Revised Code to provide that the purposeful 3
killing of a judge or magistrate in specified 4
circumstances is aggravated murder; to increase 5
the penalty for felonious assault, aggravated 6
assault, and assault in specified circumstances 7
when the victim is a judge, a magistrate, or a 8
law enforcement officer, to change the 9
circumstances in which the penalty for those 10
offenses is increased when the victim is a BCII 11
investigator, and to remove the increased penalty 12
for those offenses when the victim is a peace 13
officer; to increase the penalty for assault when 14
the offense is committed in a courthouse in 15
specified circumstances and to change the 16
circumstances in which the penalty for that 17
offense is increased when the victim is a children 18
services worker; to increase the penalty for 19
aggravated menacing in specified circumstances 20
when the victim is a law enforcement officer, 21
judge, or magistrate and to change the 22
circumstances in which the penalty for that 23
offense is increased when the victim is a children 24
services worker; to expand intimidation to also 25
prohibit attempting to intimidate a public 26
servant, party official, attorney, or witness by 27
making an unlawful threat of harm to an unborn of 28
that person; to expand retaliation to also 29
prohibit using force against or making an unlawful 30
threat to harm an unborn of a public servant, 31
party official, attorney, or witness and to modify 32
the culpable mental state for and other elements 33
of that offense; and to make the killing of a 34
judge or magistrate in specified circumstances an 35
aggravating circumstance for the imposition of 36
the death penalty for aggravated murder.37


BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

       Section 1. That sections 2903.01, 2903.11, 2903.12, 2903.13, 38
2903.21, 2921.01, 2921.03, 2921.05, and 2929.04 of the Revised 39
Code be amended to read as follows:40

       Sec. 2903.01.  (A) No person shall purposely, and with prior41
calculation and design, cause the death of another or the unlawful42
termination of another's pregnancy.43

       (B) No person shall purposely cause the death of another or44
the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy while committing45
or attempting to commit, or while fleeing immediately after46
committing or attempting to commit, kidnapping, rape, aggravated47
arson, arson, aggravated robbery, robbery, aggravated burglary,48
burglary, terrorism, or escape.49

       (C) No person shall purposely cause the death of another who50
is under thirteen years of age at the time of the commission of51
the offense.52

       (D) No person who is under detention as a result of having53
been found guilty of or having pleaded guilty to a felony or who54
breaks that detention shall purposely cause the death of another.55

       (E) No person shall purposely cause the death of a judge, 56
magistrate, or law enforcement officer whom the offender knows or 57
has reasonable cause to know is a judge, magistrate, or law 58
enforcement officer when either of the following applies:59

       (1) The victim, at the time of the commission of the offense, 60
is engaged in the victim's duties.61

       (2) It is the offender's specific purpose to kill a judge, 62
magistrate, or law enforcement officer.63

       (F) Whoever violates this section is guilty of aggravated64
murder, and shall be punished as provided in section 2929.02 of65
the Revised Code.66

       (G) As used in this section:67

       (1) "Detention" has the same meaning as in section 2921.01 of 68
the Revised Code.69

       (2) "Law enforcement officer" has the same meaning as in70
section 2911.01 of the Revised Code.71

       (3) "Judge" means a judge of a court created under the 72
constitution or statutes of this state or of a United States court 73
located in this state.74

       (4) "Magistrate" means a magistrate of a court created under 75
the constitution or statutes of this state or of a United States 76
court located in this state.77

       Sec. 2903.11.  (A) No person shall knowingly do either of the78
following:79

       (1) Cause serious physical harm to another or to another's 80
unborn;81

       (2) Cause or attempt to cause physical harm to another or to 82
another's unborn by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous 83
ordnance.84

       (B) No person, with knowledge that the person has tested 85
positive as a carrier of a virus that causes acquired 86
immunodeficiency syndrome, shall knowingly do any of the 87
following:88

       (1) Engage in sexual conduct with another person without 89
disclosing that knowledge to the other person prior to engaging in 90
the sexual conduct;91

       (2) Engage in sexual conduct with a person whom the offender 92
knows or has reasonable cause to believe lacks the mental capacity 93
to appreciate the significance of the knowledge that the offender 94
has tested positive as a carrier of a virus that causes acquired95
immunodeficiency syndrome;96

       (3) Engage in sexual conduct with a person under eighteen 97
years of age who is not the spouse of the offender.98

       (C) The prosecution of a person under this section does not99
preclude prosecution of that person under section 2907.02 of the 100
Revised Code.101

       (D)(1)(a) Whoever violates this section is guilty of 102
felonious assault. Except as otherwise provided in this division 103
or division (D)(1)(b) of this section, felonious assault is a 104
felony of the second degree. If the victim of a violation of105
division (A) of this section is a peacelaw enforcement officer, 106
judge, magistrate, or an investigator of the bureau of criminal 107
identification and investigation whom the offender knows or has 108
reasonable cause to know is a law enforcement officer, judge, 109
magistrate, or investigator of the bureau of criminal 110
identification and investigation, felonious assault is a felony of 111
the first degree. 112

       (b) Regardless of whether the felonious assault is a felony 113
of the first or second degree under division (D)(1)(a) of this 114
section, if the offender also is convicted of or pleads guilty to 115
a specification as described in section 2941.1423 of the Revised 116
Code that was included in the indictment, count in the 117
indictment, or information charging the offense, except as 118
otherwise provided in this division or unless a longer prison term 119
is required under any other provision of law, the court shall 120
sentence the offender to a mandatory prison term as provided in 121
division (D)(8) of section 2929.14 of the Revised Code. If the 122
victim of the offense is a peacelaw enforcement officer, judge, 123
magistrate, or an investigator of the bureau of criminal 124
identification and investigation whom the offender knows or has 125
reasonable cause to know is a law enforcement officer, judge, 126
magistrate, or investigator of the bureau of criminal 127
identification and investigation, and if the victim suffered128
serious physical harm as a result of the commission of the 129
offense, felonious assault is a felony of the first degree, and 130
the court, pursuant to division (F) of section 2929.13 of the 131
Revised Code, shall impose as a mandatory prison term one of the 132
prison terms prescribed for a felony of the first degree.133

       (2) In addition to any other sanctions imposed pursuant to 134
division (D)(1) of this section for felonious assault committed in 135
violation of division (A)(2) of this section, if the deadly weapon 136
used in the commission of the violation is a motor vehicle, the 137
court shall impose upon the offender a class two suspension of the 138
offender's driver's license, commercial driver's license, 139
temporary instruction permit, probationary license, or nonresident 140
operating privilege as specified in division (A)(2) of section 141
4510.02 of the Revised Code.142

       (E) As used in this section:143

       (1) "Deadly weapon" and "dangerous ordnance" have the same 144
meanings as in section 2923.11 of the Revised Code.145

       (2) "Motor vehicle" has the same meaning as in section 146
4501.01 of the Revised Code.147

       (3) "Peace officer" has the same meaning as in section 148
2935.01 of the Revised Code.149

       (4) "Sexual conduct" has the same meaning as in section 150
2907.01 of the Revised Code, except that, as used in this section, 151
it does not include the insertion of an instrument, apparatus, or 152
other object that is not a part of the body into the vaginal or 153
anal opening of another, unless the offender knew at the time of 154
the insertion that the instrument, apparatus, or other object 155
carried the offender's bodily fluid.156

       (5)(4) "Investigator of the bureau of criminal identification 157
and investigation" means an investigator of the bureau of criminal 158
identification and investigation who is commissioned by the 159
superintendent of the bureau as a special agent for the purpose of 160
assisting law enforcement officers or providing emergency 161
assistance to peace officers pursuant to authority granted under 162
section 109.541 of the Revised Code.163

       (6)(5) "Investigator" has the same meaning as in section 164
109.541 of the Revised Code.165

       (6) "Judge" and "magistrate" have the same meanings as in 166
section 2903.01 of the Revised Code.167

       Sec. 2903.12.  (A) No person, while under the influence of168
sudden passion or in a sudden fit of rage, either of which is169
brought on by serious provocation occasioned by the victim that is 170
reasonably sufficient to incite the person into using deadly171
force, shall knowingly:172

       (1) Cause serious physical harm to another or to another's 173
unborn;174

       (2) Cause or attempt to cause physical harm to another or to 175
another's unborn by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous 176
ordnance, as defined in section 2923.11 of the Revised Code.177

       (B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of aggravated178
assault. Except as otherwise provided in this division, 179
aggravated assault is a felony of the fourth degree. If the victim 180
of the offense is a peacelaw enforcement officer, judge, 181
magistrate, or an investigator of the bureau of criminal 182
identification and investigation whom the offender knows or has 183
reasonable cause to know is a law enforcement officer, judge, 184
magistrate, or investigator of the bureau of criminal 185
identification and investigation, aggravated assault is a felony 186
of the third degree. Regardless of whether the offense is a 187
felony of the third or fourth degree under this division, if the 188
offender also is convicted of or pleads guilty to a specification 189
as described in section 2941.1423 of the Revised Code that was 190
included in the indictment, count in the indictment, or 191
information charging the offense, except as otherwise provided in 192
this division, the court shall sentence the offender to a 193
mandatory prison term as provided in division (D)(8) of section 194
2929.14 of the Revised Code. If the victim of the offense is a 195
peacelaw enforcement officer, judge, magistrate, or an196
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 197
investigation whom the offender knows or has reasonable cause to 198
know is a law enforcement officer, judge, magistrate, or 199
investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and 200
investigation, and if the victim suffered serious physical harm 201
as a result of the commission of the offense, aggravated assault 202
is a felony of the third degree, and the court, pursuant to 203
division (F) of section 2929.13 of the Revised Code, shall impose 204
as a mandatory prison term one of the prison terms prescribed for 205
a felony of the third degree.206

       (C) As used in this section:207

       (1) "Investigator of the bureau of criminal identification 208
and investigation" has the same meaning as in section 2903.11 of 209
the Revised Code.210

       (2) "Peace officer" has the same meaning as in section 211
2935.01 of the Revised Code"Judge" and "magistrate" have the same 212
meanings as in section 2903.01 of the Revised Code.213

       Sec. 2903.13.  (A) No person shall knowingly cause or attempt 214
to cause physical harm to another or to another's unborn.215

       (B) No person shall recklessly cause serious physical harm to 216
another or to another's unborn.217

       (C) Whoever violates this section is guilty of assault, and 218
the court shall sentence the offender as provided in this division 219
and divisions (C)(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), and (6) of this section. 220
Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(1), (2), (3), (4), or 221
(5) of this section, assault is a misdemeanor of the first degree.222

       (1) Except as otherwise provided in this division, if the223
offense is committed by a caretaker against a functionally224
impaired person under the caretaker's care, assault is a felony of225
the fourth degree. If the offense is committed by a caretaker226
against a functionally impaired person under the caretaker's care,227
if the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty228
to a violation of this section or section 2903.11 or 2903.16 of229
the Revised Code, and if in relation to the previous conviction230
the offender was a caretaker and the victim was a functionally231
impaired person under the offender's care, assault is a felony of232
the third degree.233

       (2) If the offense is committed in any of the following234
circumstances, assault is a felony of the fifth degree:235

       (a) The offense occurs in or on the grounds of a state236
correctional institution or an institution of the department of237
youth services, the victim of the offense is an employee of the238
department of rehabilitation and correction, the department of239
youth services, or a probation department or is on the premises of240
the particular institution for business purposes or as a visitor,241
and the offense is committed by a person incarcerated in the state242
correctional institution, by a person institutionalized in the243
department of youth services institution pursuant to a commitment244
to the department of youth services, by a parolee, by an offender 245
under transitional control, under a community control sanction, or 246
on an escorted visit, by a person under post-release control, or 247
by an offender under any other type of supervision by a government 248
agency.249

       (b) The offense occurs in or on the grounds of a local250
correctional facility, the victim of the offense is an employee of251
the local correctional facility or a probation department or is on252
the premises of the facility for business purposes or as a253
visitor, and the offense is committed by a person who is under254
custody in the facility subsequent to the person's arrest for any255
crime or delinquent act, subsequent to the person's being charged256
with or convicted of any crime, or subsequent to the person's257
being alleged to be or adjudicated a delinquent child.258

       (c) The offense occurs off the grounds of a state259
correctional institution and off the grounds of an institution of260
the department of youth services, the victim of the offense is an261
employee of the department of rehabilitation and correction, the262
department of youth services, or a probation department, the263
offense occurs during the employee's official work hours and while264
the employee is engaged in official work responsibilities, and the265
offense is committed by a person incarcerated in a state266
correctional institution or institutionalized in the department of267
youth services who temporarily is outside of the institution for268
any purpose, by a parolee, by an offender under transitional 269
control, under a community control sanction, or on an escorted 270
visit, by a person under post-release control, or by an offender 271
under any other type of supervision by a government agency.272

       (d) The offense occurs off the grounds of a local273
correctional facility, the victim of the offense is an employee of274
the local correctional facility or a probation department, the275
offense occurs during the employee's official work hours and while276
the employee is engaged in official work responsibilities, and the277
offense is committed by a person who is under custody in the278
facility subsequent to the person's arrest for any crime or279
delinquent act, subsequent to the person being charged with or280
convicted of any crime, or subsequent to the person being alleged281
to be or adjudicated a delinquent child and who temporarily is282
outside of the facility for any purpose or by a parolee, by an 283
offender under transitional control, under a community control 284
sanction, or on an escorted visit, by a person under post-release285
control, or by an offender under any other type of supervision by 286
a government agency.287

       (e) The victim of the offense is a school teacher or288
administrator or a school bus operator, and the offense occurs in289
a school, on school premises, in a school building, on a school290
bus, or while the victim is outside of school premises or a school291
bus and is engaged in duties or official responsibilities292
associated with the victim's employment or position as a school293
teacher or administrator or a school bus operator, including, but294
not limited to, driving, accompanying, or chaperoning students at295
or on class or field trips, athletic events, or other school296
extracurricular activities or functions outside of school297
premises.298

       (f) The offense occurs in or on the grounds of a courthouse 299
or on premises where a courtroom is located, the offense is 300
committed by a person who is in or on those grounds or on those 301
premises by reason of or in relation to an action or proceeding 302
that is occurring, has occurred, or is scheduled to occur at the 303
courthouse or courtroom, and the offense occurs during the action 304
or proceeding or while the parties to the action or proceeding or 305
the officials involved in conducting the action or proceeding are 306
on their way to or are departing after the action or proceeding.307

       (3) If the victim of the offense is a peacelaw enforcement308
officer, judge, magistrate, or an investigator of the bureau of 309
criminal identification and investigation whom the offender 310
knows or has reasonable cause to know is a law enforcement 311
officer, judge, magistrate, or investigator of the bureau of 312
criminal identification and investigation, a firefighter, or a 313
person performing emergency medical service, while in the 314
performance of their official duties, assault is a felony of the 315
fourth degree.316

       (4) If the victim of the offense is a peacelaw enforcement317
officer, judge, magistrate, or an investigator of the bureau of 318
criminal identification and investigation whom the offender 319
knows or has reasonable cause to know is a law enforcement 320
officer, judge, magistrate, or investigator of the bureau of 321
criminal identification and investigation, and if the victim322
suffered serious physical harm as a result of the commission of 323
the offense, assault is a felony of the fourth degree, and the 324
court, pursuant to division (F) of section 2929.13 of the Revised 325
Code, shall impose as a mandatory prison term one of the prison 326
terms prescribed for a felony of the fourth degree that is at 327
least twelve months in duration.328

       (5) If the victim of the offense is an officer or employee of 329
a public children services agency or a private child placing330
agency whom the offender knows or has reasonable cause to know is 331
an officer or employee of a public children services agency or 332
private child placing agency and the offense relates to the 333
officer's or employee's performance or anticipated performance of 334
official responsibilities or duties, assault is either a felony of 335
the fifth degree or, if the offender previously has been convicted 336
of or pleaded guilty to an offense of violence, the victim of that337
prior offense was an officer or employee of a public children338
services agency or private child placing agency whom the offender 339
knew or had reasonable cause to know was an officer or employee of 340
a public children services agency or private child placing agency,341
and that prior offense related to the officer's or employee's 342
performance or anticipated performance of official 343
responsibilities or duties, a felony of the fourth degree. 344

       (6) If an offender who is convicted of or pleads guilty to 345
assault when it is a misdemeanor also is convicted of or pleads 346
guilty to a specification as described in section 2941.1423 of the 347
Revised Code that was included in the indictment, count in the 348
indictment, or information charging the offense, the court shall 349
sentence the offender to a mandatory jail term as provided in 350
division (G) of section 2929.24 of the Revised Code.351

       If an offender who is convicted of or pleads guilty to 352
assault when it is a felony also is convicted of or pleads guilty 353
to a specification as described in section 2941.1423 of the 354
Revised Code that was included in the indictment, count in the 355
indictment, or information charging the offense, except as 356
otherwise provided in division (C)(4) of this section, the court 357
shall sentence the offender to a mandatory prison term as 358
provided in division (D)(8) of section 2929.14 of the Revised 359
Code.360

       (D) As used in this section:361

       (1) "Peace officer" has the same meaning as in section362
2935.01 of the Revised Code.363

       (2) "Firefighter" has the same meaning as in section 3937.41364
of the Revised Code.365

       (3)(2) "Emergency medical service" has the same meaning as in366
section 4765.01 of the Revised Code.367

       (4)(3) "Local correctional facility" means a county,368
multicounty, municipal, municipal-county, or multicounty-municipal369
jail or workhouse, a minimum security jail established under370
section 341.23 or 753.21 of the Revised Code, or another county,371
multicounty, municipal, municipal-county, or multicounty-municipal372
facility used for the custody of persons arrested for any crime or373
delinquent act, persons charged with or convicted of any crime, or374
persons alleged to be or adjudicated a delinquent child.375

       (5)(4) "Employee of a local correctional facility" means a376
person who is an employee of the political subdivision or of one377
or more of the affiliated political subdivisions that operates the378
local correctional facility and who operates or assists in the379
operation of the facility.380

       (6)(5) "School teacher or administrator" means either of the381
following:382

       (a) A person who is employed in the public schools of the383
state under a contract described in section 3319.08 of the Revised384
Code in a position in which the person is required to have a385
certificate issued pursuant to sections 3319.22 to 3319.311 of the386
Revised Code.387

       (b) A person who is employed by a nonpublic school for which388
the state board of education prescribes minimum standards under389
section 3301.07 of the Revised Code and who is certificated in390
accordance with section 3301.071 of the Revised Code.391

       (7)(6) "Community control sanction" has the same meaning as392
in section 2929.01 of the Revised Code.393

       (8)(7) "Escorted visit" means an escorted visit granted under394
section 2967.27 of the Revised Code.395

       (9)(8) "Post-release control" and "transitional control" have396
the same meanings as in section 2967.01 of the Revised Code.397

       (10)(9) "Investigator of the bureau of criminal 398
identification and investigation" has the same meaning as in 399
section 2903.11 of the Revised Code.400

       (10) "Judge" and "magistrate" have the same meanings as in 401
section 2903.01 of the Revised Code.402

       Sec. 2903.21.  (A) No person shall knowingly cause another to 403
believe that the offender will cause serious physical harm to the 404
person or property of the other person, the other person's unborn, 405
or a member of the other person's immediate family.406

       (B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of aggravated407
menacing. Except as otherwise provided in this division,408
aggravated menacing is a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the409
victim of the offense is ana law enforcement officer, judge, 410
magistrate, or officer or employee of a public children services 411
agency or a private child placing agency whom the offender knows 412
or has reasonable cause to know is a law enforcement officer, 413
judge, magistrate, or officer or employee of a public children 414
services agency or private child placing agency and the offense415
relates to the law enforcement officer's, judge's, magistrate's,416
officer's, or employee's performance or anticipated performance of 417
official responsibilities or duties, aggravated menacing is a 418
felony of the fifth degree or, if the offender previously has been 419
convicted of or pleaded guilty to an offense of violence, the 420
victim of that prior offense was ana law enforcement officer, 421
judge, magistrate, or officer or employee of a public children 422
services agency or private child placing agency whom the offender 423
knew or had reasonable cause to know was a law enforcement 424
officer, judge, magistrate, or officer or employee of a public 425
children services agency or private child placing agency, and that 426
prior offense related to the law enforcement officer's, judge's, 427
magistrate's, officer's, or employee's performance or anticipated 428
performance of official responsibilities or duties, a felony of429
the fourth degree.430

       (C) As used in this section, "judge" and "magistrate" have 431
the same meanings as in section 2903.01 of the Revised Code.432

       Sec. 2921.01.  As used in sections 2921.01 to 2921.45 of the 433
Revised Code:434

       (A) "Public official" means any elected or appointed officer, 435
or employee, or agent of the state or any political subdivision, 436
whether in a temporary or permanent capacity, and includes, but is 437
not limited to, legislators, judges, and law enforcement officers.438

       (B) "Public servant" means any of the following:439

       (1) Any public official;440

       (2) Any person performing ad hoc a governmental function, 441
including, but not limited to, a juror, member of a temporary 442
commission, master, arbitrator, advisor, or consultant;443

       (3) A person who is a candidate for public office, whether or 444
not the person is elected or appointed to the office for which the 445
person is a candidate. A person is a candidate for purposes of 446
this division if the person has been nominated according to law 447
for election or appointment to public office, or if the person has 448
filed a petition or petitions as required by law to have the 449
person's name placed on the ballot in a primary, general, or 450
special election, or if the person campaigns as a write-in 451
candidate in any primary, general, or special election.452

       (C) "Party official" means any person who holds an elective 453
or appointive post in a political party in the United States or 454
this state, by virtue of which the person directs, conducts, or 455
participates in directing or conducting party affairs at any level 456
of responsibility.457

       (D) "Official proceeding" means any proceeding before a 458
legislative, judicial, administrative, or other governmental 459
agency or official authorized to take evidence under oath, and 460
includes any proceeding before a referee, hearing examiner, 461
commissioner, notary, or other person taking testimony or a 462
deposition in connection with an official proceeding.463

       (E) "Detention" means arrest; confinement in any vehicle 464
subsequent to an arrest; confinement in any public or private 465
facility for custody of persons charged with or convicted of crime 466
in this state or another state or under the laws of the United 467
States or alleged or found to be a delinquent child or unruly 468
child in this state or another state or under the laws of the 469
United States; hospitalization, institutionalization, or 470
confinement in any public or private facility that is ordered 471
pursuant to or under the authority of section 2945.37, 2945.371, 472
2945.38, 2945.39, 2945.40, 2945.401, or 2945.402 of the Revised 473
Code; confinement in any vehicle for transportation to or from any 474
facility of any of those natures; detention for extradition or 475
deportation; except as provided in this division, supervision by 476
any employee of any facility of any of those natures that is 477
incidental to hospitalization, institutionalization, or 478
confinement in the facility but that occurs outside the facility; 479
supervision by an employee of the department of rehabilitation and 480
correction of a person on any type of release from a state 481
correctional institution; or confinement in any vehicle, airplane, 482
or place while being returned from outside of this state into this 483
state by a private person or entity pursuant to a contract entered 484
into under division (E) of section 311.29 of the Revised Code or 485
division (B) of section 5149.03 of the Revised Code. For a person 486
confined in a county jail who participates in a county jail 487
industry program pursuant to section 5147.30 of the Revised Code, 488
"detention" includes time spent at an assigned work site and going 489
to and from the work site.490

       (F) "Detention facility" means any public or private place 491
used for the confinement of a person charged with or convicted of 492
any crime in this state or another state or under the laws of the 493
United States or alleged or found to be a delinquent child or 494
unruly child in this state or another state or under the laws of 495
the United States.496

       (G) "Valuable thing or valuable benefit" includes, but is not 497
limited to, a contribution. This inclusion does not indicate or 498
imply that a contribution was not included in those terms before 499
September 17, 1986.500

       (H) "Campaign committee," "contribution," "political action 501
committee," "legislative campaign fund," "political party," and 502
"political contributing entity" have the same meanings as in 503
section 3517.01 of the Revised Code.504

       (I) "Provider agreement" and "medical assistance program" 505
have the same meanings as in section 2913.40 of the Revised Code.506

       (J)(1) "Unborn of a public servant, party official, attorney, 507
or witness" means any of the following:508

       (a) For purposes of section 2921.03 of the Revised Code, a 509
member of the species homo sapiens who is or was carried in the 510
womb of a public servant, a party official, or an attorney or 511
witness who was involved in a civil action or proceeding, or who 512
is or was the offspring of a public servant, a party official, or 513
an attorney or witness who was involved in a civil action or 514
proceeding and is or was carried in the womb of another, during a 515
period that begins with fertilization and that continues unless 516
and until live birth occurs.517

       (b) For purposes of section 2921.05 of the Revised Code, a 518
member of the species homo sapiens who is or was carried in the 519
womb of a public servant, a party official, or an attorney or 520
witness who was involved in civil or criminal action or 521
proceeding, or who is or was the offspring of a public servant, a 522
party official, or an attorney or witness who was involved in a 523
civil or criminal action or proceeding and is or was carried in 524
the womb of another, during a period that begins with 525
fertilization and that continues unless and until live birth 526
occurs.527

       (2) Notwithstanding divisions (J)(1)(a) and (b) of this 528
section, in no case shall the definition of the term "unborn of a 529
public servant, party official, attorney, or witness" that is set 530
forth in those divisions be applied or construed in any of the 531
following manners:532

       (a) Except as otherwise provided in division (J)(2)(a) of 533
this section, in a manner so that section 2921.03 or 2921.05 of 534
the Revised Code prohibits or is construed as prohibiting any 535
pregnant woman or her physician from performing an abortion with 536
the actual consent of the pregnant woman, with the consent of the 537
pregnant woman implied by law in a medical emergency, or with the 538
approval of a person otherwise authorized by law to consent to 539
medical treatment on behalf of the pregnant woman. An abortion 540
that is performed without the consent or approval described in the 541
immediately preceding sentence may be punished as a violation of 542
section 2921.03 or 2921.05 of the Revised Code, as applicable. An 543
abortion that is performed with the consent or approval described 544
in the second immediately preceding sentence, but that violates 545
section 2919.12, division (B) of section 2919.13, or section 546
2919.151, 2919.17, or 2919.18 of the Revised Code, may be punished 547
as a violation of section 2919.12, division (B) of section 548
2919.13, or section 2919.151, 2919.17, or 2919.18 of the Revised 549
Code, as applicable.550

       (b) In a manner so that section 2921.03 or 2921.05 of the 551
Revised Code is applied or is construed as applying to a woman 552
based on an act or omission of the woman that occurs while she is 553
or was pregnant and that results in any act, occurrence, or 554
consequence identified in divisions (C)(2)(a) to (e) of section 555
2903.09 of the Revised Code.556

       Sec. 2921.03.  (A) No person, knowingly and by force, by557
unlawful threat of harm to any person or property, by unlawful 558
threat of harm to an unborn of the public servant, party 559
official, attorney, or witness involved in the action or 560
proceeding, or by filing, recording, or otherwise using a 561
materially false or fraudulent writing with malicious purpose, in562
bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner, shall attempt to 563
influence, intimidate, or hinder a public servant, a party 564
official, or an attorney or witness involved in a civil action or 565
proceeding in the discharge of the person's the duties of the 566
public servant, party official, attorney, or witness.567

       (B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of intimidation, 568
a felony of the third degree.569

       (C) For purposes of division (A) of this section, an 570
"unlawful threat" includes a threat that is made directly or 571
indirectly.572

       (D) A person who violates this section is liable in a civil573
action to any person harmed by the violation for injury, death, or 574
loss to person or property incurred as a result of the commission 575
of the offense and for reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, 576
and other expenses incurred as a result of prosecuting the civil 577
action commenced under this division. A civil action under this 578
division is not the exclusive remedy of a person who incurs 579
injury, death, or loss to person or property as a result of a 580
violation of this section.581

       Sec. 2921.05.  (A) No person, purposely and by force or by582
unlawful threat of harm to any person or property,shall 583
retaliate againstbecause a public servant, a party official, or 584
an attorney or witness who was involved in a civil or criminal 585
action or proceeding because the public servant, party official, 586
attorney, or witness discharged the duties of the public servant,587
party official, attorney, or witness, shall knowingly do any of 588
the following:589

       (1) Use force against or make an unlawful threat of harm to 590
any person or property;591

       (2) Use force against or make an unlawful threat to harm an 592
unborn of the public servant, party official, attorney, or 593
witness.594

       (B) No person, purposely and byshall knowingly use force 595
against or bymake an unlawful threat of harm to any person or 596
property, shall retaliate against thebecause a victim of a crime 597
because the victim filed or prosecuted criminal charges.598

       (C) For purposes of divisions (A)(1) and (2) of this section, 599
an "unlawful threat" includes a threat that is made directly or 600
indirectly.601

       (D) Whoever violates this section is guilty of retaliation, a 602
felony of the third degree.603

       Sec. 2929.04.  (A) Imposition of the death penalty for604
aggravated murder is precluded unless one or more of the following605
is specified in the indictment or count in the indictment pursuant606
to section 2941.14 of the Revised Code and proved beyond a607
reasonable doubt:608

       (1) The offense was the assassination of the president of the 609
United States or a person in line of succession to the presidency, 610
the governor or lieutenant governor of this state, the611
president-elect or vice president-elect of the United States, the612
governor-elect or lieutenant governor-elect of this state, or a613
candidate for any of the offices described in this division. For614
purposes of this division, a person is a candidate if the person615
has been nominated for election according to law, if the person616
has filed a petition or petitions according to law to have the617
person's name placed on the ballot in a primary or general618
election, or if the person campaigns as a write-in candidate in a619
primary or general election.620

       (2) The offense was committed for hire.621

       (3) The offense was committed for the purpose of escaping622
detection, apprehension, trial, or punishment for another offense623
committed by the offender.624

       (4) The offense was committed while the offender was under625
detention or while the offender was at large after having broken626
detention. As used in division (A)(4) of this section, "detention" 627
has the same meaning as in section 2921.01 of the Revised Code,628
except that detention does not include hospitalization,629
institutionalization, or confinement in a mental health facility630
or mental retardation and developmentally disabled facility unless 631
at the time of the commission of the offense either of the 632
following circumstances apply:633

       (a) The offender was in the facility as a result of being634
charged with a violation of a section of the Revised Code.635

       (b) The offender was under detention as a result of being636
convicted of or pleading guilty to a violation of a section of the637
Revised Code.638

       (5) Prior to the offense at bar, the offender was convicted639
of an offense an essential element of which was the purposeful640
killing of or attempt to kill another, or the offense at bar was641
part of a course of conduct involving the purposeful killing of or642
attempt to kill two or more persons by the offender.643

       (6) The victim of the offense was a law enforcement officer,644
as defined in section 2911.01 of the Revised Code, or a judge or 645
magistrate, as defined in section 2903.01 of the Revised Code,646
whom the offender had reasonable cause to know or knew to be a law647
enforcement officer or a judge or magistrate as so defined, and 648
either the victim, at the time of the commission of the offense, 649
was engaged in the victim's duties, or it was the offender's 650
specific purpose to kill a law enforcement officer or a judge or 651
magistrate as so defined.652

       (7) The offense was committed while the offender was653
committing, attempting to commit, or fleeing immediately after654
committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, rape, aggravated655
arson, aggravated robbery, or aggravated burglary, and either the656
offender was the principal offender in the commission of the657
aggravated murder or, if not the principal offender, committed the658
aggravated murder with prior calculation and design.659

       (8) The victim of the aggravated murder was a witness to an660
offense who was purposely killed to prevent the victim's testimony661
in any criminal proceeding and the aggravated murder was not662
committed during the commission, attempted commission, or flight663
immediately after the commission or attempted commission of the664
offense to which the victim was a witness, or the victim of the665
aggravated murder was a witness to an offense and was purposely666
killed in retaliation for the victim's testimony in any criminal667
proceeding.668

       (9) The offender, in the commission of the offense,669
purposefully caused the death of another who was under thirteen670
years of age at the time of the commission of the offense, and671
either the offender was the principal offender in the commission672
of the offense or, if not the principal offender, committed the673
offense with prior calculation and design.674

       (10) The offense was committed while the offender was675
committing, attempting to commit, or fleeing immediately after676
committing or attempting to commit terrorism.677

       (B) If one or more of the aggravating circumstances listed in 678
division (A) of this section is specified in the indictment or679
count in the indictment and proved beyond a reasonable doubt, and680
if the offender did not raise the matter of age pursuant to681
section 2929.023 of the Revised Code or if the offender, after682
raising the matter of age, was found at trial to have been683
eighteen years of age or older at the time of the commission of684
the offense, the court, trial jury, or panel of three judges shall685
consider, and weigh against the aggravating circumstances proved686
beyond a reasonable doubt, the nature and circumstances of the687
offense, the history, character, and background of the offender,688
and all of the following factors:689

       (1) Whether the victim of the offense induced or facilitated690
it;691

       (2) Whether it is unlikely that the offense would have been692
committed, but for the fact that the offender was under duress,693
coercion, or strong provocation;694

       (3) Whether, at the time of committing the offense, the695
offender, because of a mental disease or defect, lacked696
substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality of the697
offender's conduct or to conform the offender's conduct to the698
requirements of the law;699

       (4) The youth of the offender;700

       (5) The offender's lack of a significant history of prior701
criminal convictions and delinquency adjudications;702

       (6) If the offender was a participant in the offense but not703
the principal offender, the degree of the offender's participation704
in the offense and the degree of the offender's participation in705
the acts that led to the death of the victim;706

       (7) Any other factors that are relevant to the issue of707
whether the offender should be sentenced to death.708

       (C) The defendant shall be given great latitude in the709
presentation of evidence of the factors listed in division (B) of710
this section and of any other factors in mitigation of the711
imposition of the sentence of death.712

       The existence of any of the mitigating factors listed in713
division (B) of this section does not preclude the imposition of a714
sentence of death on the offender but shall be weighed pursuant to715
divisions (D)(2) and (3) of section 2929.03 of the Revised Code by716
the trial court, trial jury, or the panel of three judges against717
the aggravating circumstances the offender was found guilty of718
committing.719

       Section 2.  That existing sections 2903.01, 2903.11, 2903.12, 720
2903.13, 2903.21, 2921.01, 2921.03, 2921.05, and 2929.04 of the 721
Revised Code are hereby repealed.722

       Section 3. Section 2921.03 of the Revised Code is presented 723
in this act as a composite of the section as amended by both Am. 724
Sub. H.B. 88 and Sub. H.B. 644 of the 121st General Assembly. The 725
General Assembly, applying the principle stated in division (B) 726
of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that amendments are to be 727
harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation, finds 728
that the composites are the resulting versions of the sections in 729
effect prior to the effective date of the sections as presented 730
in this act.731