Gov. Matt Bevin held a bill signing ceremony on Tuesday for legislation approved by the 2019 General Assembly that specifically makes strangulation a felony.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Alice Forgy Kerr, R-Lexington, passed the Senate during the 2019 General Assembly 35-1, and by a 96-0 vote in the House.
Eileen Recktenwald, executive director of the Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs, said the separate law is needed.
“Strangulation is often used to commit sexual assault. Quite often the victim blacks out and can’t remember exactly what happened.”
Gov. Matt Bevin said: “I have six daughters, all in their teens or 20s. Statistically, this could be part of one of their lives. Certainly, I hope and pray it won’t be.”
The governor cited a statistic, “Women who find themselves victims of strangulation are seven times for likely to be killed,” he said. “There should be absolutely no tolerance for this whatsoever.”
Noting that there are only a couple states that don’t have a separate strangulation law, Bevin said, “I’m going to find out what those other two states are and I’ll help you. There is no reason why this should not be addressed everywhere.”
The bill, which becomes effective on June 27, provides for a penalty of up to 10 years in prison for conviction of strangulation in the first degree.
By Tom Latek, Kentucky Today
