By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The murder of a 20-year-old University of Toledo student last week has spurred a call from Northwest Ohio citizens for a violent offender registry in the state.
So State Senators Randy Gardner, R-Bowling Green, and Cliff Hite, R-Findlay, have begun working on a system that could better inform and warn the public about violent offenders in their midst.
Citizens in the region asked legislators to consider such a registry following the murder of Sierah Joughin in Fulton County. James Worley, the man charged with Joughin’s murder, was convicted of abduction in 1990 and served three years in prison.
Gardner said he and Hite, who both represent portions of Fulton County, are responding to people outraged and horrified by the murder and the similarities to the previous abduction.
“We are considering concerns and anxieties of citizens,” Gardner said. As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 10,000 people had signed the petition asking for the registry.
“This person obviously is a sick, disturbed individual,” he said of Worley. “The question is, are there any other unsolved murders around the state.”
A violent offenders registry would at least make citizens aware of such offenders residing in their neighborhoods, Gardner said.
To determine the best way to set up such a system, Gardner said he has spoken with four sheriffs, the Buckeye Sheriff’s Association, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and county prosecutors.
“We’re doing our homework,” he said. “We are thinking about the most practical, best way to do this.”
The system would probably work similarly to Ohio’s existing sex offender registry law.
Several other states have violent offender registries, including neighboring Indiana. The senators will gain information from Indiana and other states as they begin working on an effective public registry process for Ohio.
In Indiana, anyone classified as a sex or violent offender must register for 10 years. Those classified as sexually violent predators must register for life.
According to Gardner and Hite, Ohio lawmakers have taken significant steps to address the issue of violent crime by strengthening penalties for repeat violent offenders and conducting a comprehensive review of that state’s criminal justice laws.
Last year, the General Assembly approved Senate Bill 97, known as the Violent Career Criminal Act, which classifies any adult convicted of at least two violent felonies in the past eight years as a “Violent Career Criminal.” Violent offenders under this classification now face steeper penalties such as mandatory prison time for subsequent offenses.
The legislature has also formed a bipartisan committee of 24 experts to conduct an extensive review of Ohio’s entire criminal code, with the goal of enhancing public safety and the administration of criminal justice throughout the state of Ohio.
