HB 372 Ohio House · 136th Legislature (2025-2026)

Enact the Larry Henderson Act

Summary
To amend sections 2903.01, 2929.03, and 2929.04 of the Revised Code to enact the Larry Henderson Act to specify that the penalty for aggravated murder for an adult offender is death or life without the possibility of parole if the victim is a peace officer, prosecutor, first responder, or military member.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jun 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2026
House Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Jun 23, 2025 Last action Apr 15, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

As Introduced As Passed by the House · 3 edits · Mar 25, 2026
MINOR
The bill was amended to expand the death penalty eligibility to include killings of corrections officers and to add a new aggravating circumstance for killing military members. It also updated the list of protected victims to explicitly include corrections officers alongside peace officers and prosecutors.
Scope change
The bill's scope was expanded to include corrections officers and military members as protected victims eligible for the death penalty under specific conditions.
SCOPE

Added 'corrections officer' to the list of protected victims who, if killed under specific circumstances, can result in a death penalty sentence.

Added a new specific provision for the death penalty when the victim is a military member, provided it was the offender's specific purpose to kill them.

DEFINITION

Updated the definition of protected victims in the aggravating circumstances section to explicitly include corrections officers and clarify the conditions for military members.

Floor votes · House Mar 25, 2026

How they voted

884
Passed
Total votes 92
Mar 25, 2026
D Democratic29
25 Yea 4 Nay
86% Yea
R Republican63
63 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
6
Key actions
1
Committee
2
Amendments
1
Apr 15, 2026
Committee
Referred to committee
upper
Mar 26, 2026
Introduced
Introduced
upper
Mar 25, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
Mar 24, 2026
Introduced
Reported - Amended
lower
Sep 15, 2025
Committee
Referred to committee
lower
Jun 23, 2025
Introduced
Introduced
lower
2 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors