Law Office of James D. Owen, LLC

Since the beginning of the year, Columbus has had 62 homicides, compared to 54 homicides for the same period last year. Ten of the homicides were juveniles. So far, seven juveniles have been arrested and charged with murder in 2020. According to Columbus Police Sgt. Joe Albert, there has been an increase in the rate of serious crimes related to juveniles in Columbus. The most recent teenage shootings occurred over the July 4 weekend. Three teenagers were shot and wounded in a drive-by shooting in Linden. Less than 24 hours later, a 17-year-old boy died from gunshot wounds. The shooter was an 18-year-old boy. The boys had gotten into a…

Lawmakers in Ohio want to charge women with murder if they have an abortion. Under a newly proposed law, a woman could potentially face up to 15 years in an Ohio state prison for terminating a pregnancy. Doctors who perform abortions could also face charges for murder. The bill marks one of the most aggressive attempts to make abortion illegal in the nation. Understanding Ohio’s Murder Statute  Murder is a type of homicide. Homicide refers to the act of one person killing another. Homicide can be lawful and unlawful. Murder falls under the category of unlawful homicide. In Ohio, murder is defined in ORC § 2903.02 to mean “purposely caus[ing]…

In most states, you can face criminal charges for murder if, while committing or attempting to commit a felony, someone dies. This is called felony murder. It doesn’t matter whether the felony was successful or if the death was entirely accidental. The fact that someone died while you were attempting to commit a felony offense is enough to warrant murder charges against you. Ohio does have a version of a felony-murder rule. However, the law is quite narrow. You can only face “felony murder” charges in Ohio if you cause a death while committing or attempting to commit one of a handful of violent crimes. Does that mean you’re off…