COLUMBUS – Ohio would join the growing list of states that have eliminated their statute of limitations in cases of rape if lawmakers in the Statehouse approve a piece of legislation.
The bill, introduced Tuesday by Reps. Tavia Galonski (D-Akron) and Kent Smith (D-Euclid) would eliminate Ohio’s current 25-year statute of limitations, as lawmakers in more than half of U.S. states have done, Galonski and Smith say.
Statutes of limitations have historically protected against convictions rooted in deteriorated evidence but advocates for eliminating Ohio’s limit argue that advances in DNA testing technology have eliminated many of these concerns.
According to the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence, 1 in 5 women have been the victim of rape in their lifetime, which amounts to approximately 743,000 women in Ohio.