Ohio voters will decide this November whether to strengthen crime victims’ rights enumerated in the state constitution by voting on Marsy’s Law for Ohio.
Officially called the Ohio Crime Victims Bill of Rights, the proposed constitutional amendment was certified Monday by the Ohio secretary of state. If the measure is approved by voters, Ohio would be the sixth state to enact such protections for victims of crime.
“We are excited that Ohioans will be able to vote on placing basic, enforceable rights for victims of crime into the state constitution,” said Henry Nicholas, a California philanthropist who started the Marsy’s Law effort in memory of his sister Marsy.
The measure joins the Ohio Drug Price Relief Act, a citizen-proposed law that aims to lower state spending on prescription medicine, on the November 7 ballot.
Marsy’s Law supporters had to submit at least 305,591 valid signatures of registered Ohio voters, meeting a certain threshold in 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties. The group collected 371,749 valid signatures and met the threshold in 54 counties, Secretary of State Jon Husted’s office said Monday.
Marsy’s Law would expand crime victims’ rights granted by a 1994 constitutional amendment that called for victims to have a “meaningful role” in the justice process. Several state laws also outline victims’ rights, such as the right to attend court proceedings, but victim advocates say they are difficult to enforce.
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