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Abstract: 

One of the main impediments that survivors, law enforcers, and the criminal justice system have faced in the past is the failure to understand the seriousness, lethality, and outright criminality of this heinous act. In this article, the authors make a compelling case for the idea that strangulation should always be charged as a felony—as the threat to life and limb that it truly is. As their rationale, the authors offer this succinct summary statement: “. . . An offender can strangle someone to death or nearly to death with no visible external injury, resulting in professionals viewing such an offense as a minor misdemeanor or no provable crime at all. When an abuser strangles his intimate partner, he is committing a serious criminal offense, often causing permanent brain damage to his victim. He must be held accountable for his conduct through the criminal justice system.”

Keywords: Replacing “Attempted Strangulation” with “Felony Strangulation Assault”

Affiliations:  1: Alliance for HOPE International; 2: Alliance for HOPE International; 3: San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.