DeWine praises new violent offender law

VW independent/submitted information

COLUMBUS — Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is praising a new law that increases prison time for violent offenders who repeatedly commit crimes in Ohio.

Senate Bill 97, known as the Violent Career Criminal Act, was signed into law on Tuesday by Ohio Governor John Kasich.

The new law now classifies anyone who has committed two or more violent felony offenses as a violent career criminal. If a violent career criminal is convicted of committing an additional violent felony offense while using a firearm, the new law now requires that offender to be sentenced to a mandatory 2 to 11 years in prison, in addition to the sentence for the underlying crime.

The law also enhances gun specification penalties by 50 percent.

“The ultimate goal of this law is to protect Ohio families and reduce crime across the state. I hope that the threat of additional prison time will make offenders think twice about committing another violent crime, and those who do will pay the price,” said Attorney General DeWine.

The Violent Career Criminal Act was sponsored by Senators Jim Hughes (R-Columbus) and Frank LaRose (R-Copley). The bill was drafted after a study commissioned by Attorney General DeWine’s Violent Crimes with Guns Advisory Group found that people with two or more violent felony offenses, who make up only .91 percent of Ohio’s adult population, are responsible for 57 percent of Ohio’s violent felony convictions.

The study, which was based on 1974-2010 data from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and Bureau of Criminal Investigation and conducted by Ohio State University researcher Deanna Wilkinson, Ph.D., also found that nearly 56 percent of all of Ohio’s violent felony convictions happened in Cuyahoga, Hamilton, Summit, and Franklin counties. Those counties, along with Montgomery, Stark, Lucas, Lorain, Butler, Lake, Clark, and Mahoning counties, accounted for 83 percent of violent crime.