Aisha's Law Back In Ohio House Justice Committee

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH — State Rep. Janine Boyd testified on behalf of Aisha's Law this week.

Aisha's Law is named for Aisha Fraser, a Shaker Heights teacher who was killed by her ex-husband in 2018. The legislation would offer expanded protections for domestic violence survivors

"I promised Aisha’s family, friends, colleagues and students that I would leave no stone unturned in this legislation. This bill will not end domestic violence. It will, however, create a continuum of strengthened protections for survivors who are in the most lethal situations," Boyd said in a statement.

Here's what the legislation would do:

• Expand the definition of domestic violence to include strangulation.
• Create a new temporary protection order a person can request outside of a court's normal business hours.
• Require police departments to adopt rules and procedures for screening victims of domestic violence using an evidence-based lethality assessment tool to determine if the case should be referred to local or regional domestic violence advocacy services.
• Require the Ohio Attorney General to adopt rules requiring every peace officer and troop who handles domestic violence complaints to complete biennial professional training that includes the referral of high risk victims to a local or regional domestic violence advocacy service.
• Require law enforcement to inform victims of an alleged strangulation of the medical dangers and urge them to seek medical attention.
• Increase domestic violence circumstances to the offense of aggravated murder.
• Ask the Ohio Supreme Court to review the Ohio Rules of Evidence to consider how they may better help victims of domestic violence without diminishing the fundamental fairness to alleged perpetrators of domestic violence.
• Create the Domestic Violence Drop Policy Study Committee to examine policies to protect domestic violence victims throughout the judicial process.
• Allocate $150,000 to the Police Officers’ Training Academy Fee for the purpose of training police officers on how to respond to domestic violence calls.

Aisha's Law was unveiled in the 133rd General Assembly and passed by the Ohio House in May 2020. It's now awaiting further hearings in the House Justice Committee.