Portage County Legal News

Proposed law would create registry of violent offenders in Ohio

KEITH ARNOLD
Special to the Legal News
Published: June 23, 2017

Ohio sex offenders soon may not be the only criminals in the Buckeye State to appear on a registry for the safety and security of citizens.

A legislative push to establish a violent offender registry - the primary component of Senate Bill 67, titled Sierah's Law - to counter the majority of the violent crimes committed in the state by a minuscule fraction of the overall population continues to advance through a Senate committee.

The bill, named to memorialize Sierah Joughin, a University of Toledo student who was abducted and subsequently killed while she was riding her bicycle in rural Fulton County.

The man accused in her death, 58-year-old James Worley previously had been convicted on an abduction charge 26 years ago, according to published reports.

"Having a registry of violent offenders will provide Ohioans with the knowledge they need to know about who is living near them," Attorney General Mike DeWine said.

Republican Sens. Randy Gardner and Cliff Hite, respectively of Bowling Green and Findlay, introduced the bill earlier in the legislative session.

The bill specifies that a person who is convicted of any of the following offenses may be included in the State Registry of Violent Offenders:

- Aggravated murder, murder, voluntary manslaughter, kidnapping, or abduction;

- An attempt or conspiracy to commit, or complicity in committing, any offense listed in the preceding dot point;

- Any other "offense of violence" the attorney general considers necessary to include in the registry.

"We've been working with sheriffs and the attorney general's office for months, but it's time to take the debate to the Senate committee room," Gardner said upon the bill's introduction.

"We appreciate the support and suggestions from citizens and organizations since the tragedy of Sierah's death," Hite said. "Now the public deserves an open and candid discussion as we strive to establish the best registry possible that maximizes public safety and awareness."

Support for such a registry includes county sheriffs, DeWine, Reps. Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, and Derek Merrin, R-Monclova Township

The lawmakers said that law enforcement officials believe the new registry could help with faster response times when crimes are committed, in addition to providing more knowledge and awareness for the general public.

Five states - Indiana, Illinois, Montana, Kansas and Oklahoma - have violent offender registries.

DeWine said the registry would work in a similar fashion as the state sex offender registry.

"The law would apply to felons released from prison after being convicted of a violent offense," he told Senate committee members. "... Time after time, we've seen that violent criminals convicted of the most heinous crimes are a danger to Ohioans."

The attorney general cited an Ohio State University study, which found a tiny fraction of Ohioans - 0.91 percent - each with two or more felony convictions, were responsible for more than 60 percent of all violent crime in the state.

The bill has broad support in the Senate.

A fourth hearing had not been scheduled at time of publication.

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