To amend sections 2903.01, 2929.03, 2929.04, and 2941.14 of the Revised Code to enact the Larry Henderson Act to specify that the penalty for aggravated murder for an adult offender is death or life without the possibility of parole if the victim is a peace officer, corrections officer, prosecutor, first responder, or military member.
HB372, the Larry Henderson Act, would amend Ohio’s aggravated murder statutes to create a special sentencing rule when the victim is a peace officer, prosecutor, first responder, or military member. For adult offenders convicted of aggravated murder in those circumstances, the bill provides that the penalty must be either death or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The bill also expands and clarifies the statutory definitions of those protected categories, including certain federal law enforcement officers, emergency response personnel, and members or former members of the armed forces, reserves, Ohio National Guard, and military training programs.
The bill revises Ohio’s capital sentencing provisions in sections 2929.03 and 2929.04 to add these victims to the list of aggravating circumstances that can support a death sentence. It also makes conforming changes to the procedures for jury findings, sentencing hearings, and mitigation review in aggravated murder cases. In addition, the bill amends section 2903.01 to add separate aggravated murder provisions for intentionally killing a peace officer or prosecutor, and for intentionally killing a first responder or military member, while preserving existing rules for other aggravated murder offenses.
HB372 would narrow sentencing discretion in aggravated murder cases involving the specified protected victims by requiring either a death sentence or life without parole for adult offenders, rather than allowing the broader range of life sentences that can apply in other aggravated murder cases. It would also expand Ohio’s capital aggravating circumstances and related definitions, affecting prosecutors, courts, juries, and defendants in homicide cases involving law enforcement, emergency personnel, and military members. The bill would amend and partially repeal existing sections 2903.01, 2929.03, and 2929.04, and it references conforming changes to section 2941.14 in the bill caption.
The available voting history suggests strong support for the bill in the House Judiciary Committee and on the House floor. The committee reported the bill favorably on a 13-0 vote, and the House passed it 89-4. No committee transcript was provided, so there is no recorded debate text here, but the vote margins indicate broad bipartisan approval with limited opposition.
The main policy issue is the bill’s expansion of capital punishment eligibility and mandatory sentencing severity for murders of protected public-safety and military personnel. Supporters appear to favor heightened penalties for killings of peace officers, prosecutors, first responders, and military members, while the small number of dissenting House votes suggests some opposition to either the death-penalty expansion itself or the mandatory life-without-parole/death framework. The bill also raises definitional questions by extending coverage to former officers, former first responders, and certain military trainees, which could be a point of concern in implementation.