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Abstract: 

Today, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, three U.S. Territories (Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico), 20 Tribes, and federal law and the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) have recognized strangulation as a felony by adding the offense to an existing statute or creating a stand-alone law, and most states have a 10-year minimum sentence modeled after the federal sentencing guidelines incorporated in the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA) of 2013. This article surveys the most influential and far-reaching of these new laws, summarizes key provisions that distinguish them, explains the importance of legislative intent in debating and passing strangulation laws, and identifies the key trends that are emerging in the best of these new statutes, including mandated medical treatment and forensic exams for strangulation victims; “duty to warn” and “duty to track” provisions; a “no visible injury” requirement; special protections for children who witness strangulation in the home; bail surety for dangerous offenders; and charging strangulation as attempted murder.

Keywords: Strangulation Criminal Statutes; Sentencing; Rules of Evidence and Expert Testimony; Judicial Rulings Recognizing the Seriousness of Strangulation

Affiliations:  1: Alliance for HOPE International; 2: Alliance for HOPE International.