OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
S.B. 103 Bill Analysis
134th General Assembly
Click here for S.B. 103’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Introduced
Primary Sponsors: Sens. Antonio and S. Huffman
Effective Date:
Dennis M. Papp, Attorney
SUMMARY
Abolishes the death penalty in Ohio.
Requires, generally, a person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to aggravated murder
to be sentenced to one of three options:
Life imprisonment with parole eligibility after serving 20 full years of imprisonment;
Life imprisonment with parole eligibility after serving 30 full years of imprisonment;
Life imprisonment without parole.
Requires a person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to aggravated murder of a victim
under age 13 and who also is convicted of or pleads guilty to a sexual motivation
specification to be sentenced to an indefinite prison term of 30 years to life under the
Sexually Violent Predator Sentencing Law.
Requires a person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to aggravated murder and also is
convicted of or pleads guilty to a sexual motivation specification and a sexually violent
predator specification to be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole under the
Sexually Violent Predator Sentencing Law.
Requires a person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to terrorism when the most
serious offense comprising the terrorism is aggravated murder to be sentenced to life
imprisonment without parole.
Specifies that nothing in the bill is intended to nullify or mitigate the sentence of an
offender who was sentenced to death before the bill’s effective date.
Specifies that an offender whose sentence of death was set aside, nullified, or vacated
pursuant to an existing provision but who was not resentenced under that provision as
of the bill’s effective date must be resentenced in accordance with that provision as it
existed immediately before that effective date.
March 30, 2021
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
Specifies that an offender sentenced to death before the bill’s effective date will have
the same rights to appeal and to postconviction remedies (including DNA testing or
having a serious mental illness at the time of the offense) as the offender had
immediately before that effective date and that courts have the same powers and
duties regarding offenders under those provisions as they had before that effective
date.
Requires all reports and payments relating to capital cases that were required to be
made under the state’s Public Defender Law before the bill’s effective date to be made
each calendar or fiscal year, as applicable, in accordance with the law as it existed
immediately before that effective date.
Specifies that the Capital Case Attorney Fee Council created under existing law but
repealed by the bill will continue under the existing provisions in effect immediately
before the bill’s effective date, until each case in which a defendant was sentenced to
death before that effective date is finally resolved.
Modifies the current statutory provisions regarding peremptory challenges of jurors to
reflect the bill’s elimination of capital cases and conform to Supreme Court Rules.
Modifies the provisions regarding records retention by a court of common pleas, and
requires a court of common pleas that sentences a defendant to death before the bill’s
effective date to preserve the records in the action.
Specifies that attorneys appointed to represent indigent defendants in postconviction
relief proceedings, when the defendant was sentenced to death before the bill’s
effective date, must be certified under the Rules for Appointment of Counsel in Capital
Cases in the same manner as certifications were required under rules and statutes
immediately before that effective date.
Clarifies that the provision that allows the Governor, in certain circumstances, to modify
notification and publication requirements when an application for a pardon or
commutation of sentence of a person sentenced to death has been made will apply only
regarding a person sentenced to death before the bill’s effective date.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abolishment of the death penalty in Ohio ..................................................................................... 3
New sentencing for aggravated murder and terrorism .............................................................. 3
Aggravated murder ................................................................................................................ 3
Terrorism ................................................................................................................................ 4
Treatment of offenders sentenced to death before the bill’s effective date ............................. 4
In general ................................................................................................................................ 4
Resentencing of offenders whose sentences were previously set aside, nullified, or vacated
................................................................................................................................................ 4
Right to postconviction DNA testing ...................................................................................... 5
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As Introduced
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Reimbursements for counties’ costs of conducting defense in capital cases ............................ 5
Death penalty – current law ........................................................................................................... 6
Offenses of aggravated murder and terrorism ........................................................................... 6
Aggravated murder ................................................................................................................ 6
Terrorism ................................................................................................................................ 6
Sentencing procedures for aggravated murder .......................................................................... 7
Challenge of jurors .......................................................................................................................... 8
Operation of the bill .................................................................................................................... 8
Existing law .................................................................................................................................. 8
Recording of actions and records retention ................................................................................... 9
Representation of offenders sentenced to death before effective date ....................................... 9
Ohio Public Defender Commission rules ..................................................................................... 9
Representation in postconviction relief proceedings ............................................................... 10
Notification of application for pardon or commutation of sentence ........................................... 10
Repeals .......................................................................................................................................... 10
Cross-references and conforming changes .................................................................................. 13
DETAILED ANALYSIS
Abolishment of the death penalty in Ohio
The bill abolishes the death penalty in Ohio.
New sentencing for aggravated murder and terrorism
Aggravated murder
Except as described in the next paragraph, the bill requires that a person who is
convicted of or pleads guilty to aggravated murder (see “Offenses of aggravated
murder and terrorism,” below, for elements of that offense) be sentenced to one of
three options:1
1. Life imprisonment with parole eligibility after serving 20 full years of imprisonment;
2. Life imprisonment with parole eligibility after serving 30 full years of imprisonment;
3. Life imprisonment without parole.
If a person is convicted of or pleads guilty to aggravated murder, the victim of the
offense under age 13, and the offender also is convicted of or pleads guilty to a “sexual
motivation specification” (a defined term) included in the document charging the offense,
except as described in the next sentence, the court must impose an indefinite prison term of 30
1 R.C. 2929.02(A).
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As Introduced
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years to life under the Sexually Violent Predator Sentencing Law. If a person is convicted of or
pleads guilty to aggravated murder and also is convicted of or pleads guilty to a sexual
motivation specification and a “sexually violent predator specification” (a defined term)
included in the document charging the murder, the court must impose a term of life
imprisonment without parole under the Sexually Violent Predator Sentencing Law.2
Currently, a sentence of death is a sentencing option in certain circumstances for a
person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to aggravated murder (see “Death penalty –
current law,” below).
Terrorism
The bill requires that a person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to terrorism when the
most serious act of terrorism is aggravated murder (see “Offenses of aggravated
murder and terrorism,” below, for elements of that offense) be sentenced to life
imprisonment without parole.3
Currently, a sentence of death is a sentencing option in certain circumstances for a
person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to terrorism (see “Death penalty – current
law,” below).
Treatment of offenders sentenced to death before the bill’s effective
date
In general
The bill states that nothing in its provisions is intended to nullify or mitigate the
sentence of an offender who was sentenced to death before its effective date.4
Resentencing of offenders whose sentences were previously set aside,
nullified, or vacated
Under the bill, an offender whose sentence of death has been set aside, nullified, or
vacated pursuant to the statute that pertains to the setting aside, nullification, or vacation of a
death sentence and resentencing of the offender,5 as that statute existed immediately before
the bill’s effective date, but who has not been resentenced under that statute as of the bill’s
effective date must be resentenced in accordance with that statute as it existed immediately
before the bill’s effective date.6
2 R.C. 2929.02(C), cross-referenced at R.C. 2929.14(E)(5) and (6), 2941.148(A)(1)(e) and (f),
2971.03(B)(3)(c), 2971.07(A)(6) and (7), and 5120.61(A)(1)(e) and (f).
3 R.C. 2909.24.
4 Section 4(B).
5 R.C. 2929.06, not in, but repealed by, the bill.
6 Section 4(A).
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As Introduced
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Right to postconviction DNA testing
An offender who was sentenced to death before the bill’s effective date will have the
same rights to appeal and to postconviction remedies (including DNA testing and having had a
serious mental illness at the time of the offense) as the offender had under the provisions of
R.C. Chapter 2953 as those provisions existed immediately before the bill’s effective date or as
those provisions subsequently may be amended, and courts have the same powers and duties
with respect to those offenders under those provisions as courts had before the bill’s effective
date.7
Reimbursements for counties’ costs of conducting defense in capital
cases
Under current law, the State Public Defender must reimburse costs and expenses of
conducting the defense in capital cases to each county. The amount of reimbursement is based
on the total amount appropriated for the particular fiscal year by the General Assembly for the
reimbursement of county appointed counsel offices and systems. If the amount appropriated in
a fiscal year is insufficient to pay the cost in the fiscal year of all county appointed counsel
offices and systems, the amount of money paid in that fiscal year to each county for the fiscal
year is reduced proportionately so that each county is paid an equal percentage of its cost in
the fiscal year.8
The bill repeals the provisions that pertain to reimbursement in capital cases. 9 Under
the bill, all reports and payments relating to capital cases that were required to be made under
any provision of the state’s Public Defender Law or R.C. 109.97 (see below) as those provisions
existed immediately before the bill’s effective date must be made each calendar or fiscal year,
as applicable, in accordance with those provisions as they existed immediately before the bill’s
effective date, and the Capital Case Attorney Fee Counsel created under existing law but
repealed by the bill10 will continue under the provisions of the section that created the Counsel
as it existed immediately before the bill’s effective date, until each case in which a defendant
was sentenced to death before the bill’s effective date is finally resolved.11 R.C. 109.97,
repealed by the bill, requires the Attorney General to prepare an annual capital case status
report that contains information about every individual sentenced to death for committing an
aggravated murder.
7 Section 4(B).
8 R.C. 120.35, not in, but repealed by, the bill, and R.C. 120.34.
9 R.C. 120.34 and repeal of R.C. 120.35.
10 R.C. 120.33(D), repealed by the bill.
11 R.C. 120.34 and Section 4(C).
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As Introduced
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Death penalty – current law
Current Ohio law allows the death penalty only for the offense of aggravated murder
when the offender also is convicted of one or more specifications of an aggravating
circumstance and the court determines after applying a specified balancing test that the death
penalty is appropriate, or for the offense of terrorism when the most serious offense
comprising the terrorism is aggravated murder. When sentencing for terrorism, the same
sentencing procedure is used as is used when sentencing for aggravated murder.
Offenses of aggravated murder and terrorism
Aggravated murder
Current law, unchanged by the bill, prohibits many different types of conduct that are
included within the offense of aggravated murder. Under that offense, current law prohibits the
following acts:12
1. Purposely, and with prior calculation and design, causing the death of another or the
unlawful termination of another’s pregnancy;
2. Purposely causing the death of another or the unlawful termination of another’s
pregnancy while committing or attempting to commit, or while fleeing immediately
after committing or attempting to commit, kidnapping, rape, aggravated arson, arson,
aggravated robbery, robbery, aggravated burglary, burglary, trespass in a habitation
when a person is present or likely to be present, terrorism, or escape;
3. Purposely causing the death of another if: the other person is under age 13 at the time
of the commission of the offense; the offender is under detention as a result of having
been found guilty of or having pleaded guilty to a felony or has broken that detention;
or the other person is a law enforcement officer whom the offender knows or has
reasonable cause to know is a law enforcement officer and either the victim, at the time
of the commission of the offense, is engaged in the victim’s duties, or it is the offender’s
specific purpose to kill a law enforcement officer.
Whoever violates one of these pro