TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — Senate Bill 1211, a bill to strengthen penalties for strangulation, has passed through the House.
The author of the bill, State Representative John George, says that the bill was written with Oklahoma’s staggering domestic violence statistics in mind.
“Strangulation is a very, very serious crime yet it had the lowest maximum punishment than any of our violent crimes,” George said.
According to the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention, “A woman who has suffered a non-fatal strangulation is 750% more likely to be killed by the same perpetrator.”
“The nature of this bill in general shows how important we do wanna take domestic violence and how we wanna do what we can, and the ones that don’t seem to care, yes we do need to lock up,” said George.
SB 1211 addresses these issues head-on by raising the maximum sentencing from three years to ten for any person found guilty of strangulation or the attempted strangulation of an intimate partner or household member.
Tracey Lyall, the CEO of Domestic Violence Intervention Services, says this legislation sends an important message.
“I think this bill sends a message to harm-doers that they’re going to be punished if they strangle someone and that violence is not okay in relationships and particularly strangulation is not okay in relationships. It’s very dangerous and it can kill someone pretty quickly,” said Lyall.
George says the proposed legislation has received bipartisan support, as it now waits for the Governor’s desk to be signed into law.
“Even across the aisle, I think everybody understands strangulation is a very violent crime portrayed on your family or your partner, and again the chilling part of it is how often it leads to death later in that relationship,” said George.
Original Source: Lauren Henry, KTUL. Click here to view original post!