Ohioans will be voting on an issue this fall that, if passed, would add what backers call a victim’s bill of rights to the Ohio constitution.
The Secretary of State has certified signatures submitted by backers of what’s known as “Marsy’s Law”, meaning it’ll be on this fall’s ballot. If voters approve this law, crime victims would have the right to notification of all legal proceedings involving their case and would have the right to be heard in the process. Victims would also have the right to weigh in on plea deals for offenders and would have the right to restitution. Marsy's Law is a national movement named after a California woman who was killed by her ex-boyfriend in 1983. But critics in the criminal justice field say they're worried the law could be unconstitutional, and that it could result in prosecutors not taking some cases or convicts getting out of prison because their rights were violated.
