Child Abuse Is a Violent Crime
Video Transcribed: What is considered a violent crime in Oklahoma? I’m Tulsa criminal defense attorney, James Wirth, and we’re talking about violent crime and how that is defined in Oklahoma. All right, so it’s actually defined by statute and it’s pretty clear cut if you know where to look for it. So the statute is related to Prison Overcrowding Emergency Powers Act, and this allows certain people to be released from incarceration early if it’s a nonviolent crime. So in order to determine who could be released early, we had to have the legislature define what are violent crimes and that’s what they did and it’s in the statute.
It’s titled 57, section 5-71, and it has, violent crime means any of the following felony offenses and any attempts to commit or conspire, solicit to commit any of those crimes. And it’s got a long list of them and includes assault and battery or assault and battery with a dangerous or deadly weapon. Okay, so that doesn’t mean simple assault doesn’t mean simple battery or simple assault or battery, and it doesn’t even mean domestic assault and battery.
That means it has to be related to a dangerous or deadly weapon there. And aggravated assault and battery on a police officer or poisoning with intent to kill, shooting with intent to kill, assault with intent to kill, assault with intent to commit a felony, assault with a dangerous weapon while master disguised. Murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree, manslaughter in the first degree, manslaughter in the second degree. Burglary, kidnapping, first-degree burglary, I should say.
Burglary with explosives, kidnapping for extortion, maiming, robbery. Robbery in the first degree, robbery in the second degree, armed robbery, robbery by two or more persons, robbery with a dangerous weapon or imitation firearm. Child abuse is a violent crime.
So it’s good to note there that not all violent crimes are typically what we define as violent, there are various types of child abuse, neglect, and things that may not actually require any violence at all, but it is a serious felony offense. And it’s listed on the violent crimes here because we don’t want people, the legislators have decided they don’t want people released early for those types of offenses. And then there’s some that might be considered violent, but are not on this list.
For instance, simple assault and battery, that can be violent. You go and punch somebody that’s violent, but it’s not a violent crime. And there was a movement to try to get domestic assault and battery added on the violent crime list, which would be the only misdemeanor on the list.
However, that did not pass, it failed. So that is not on there, all of them on here are felonies. But some additional ones wiring any equipment vehicle or structure with explosives, forcible sodomy, rape in the first degree, second degree by instrumentation, lewd or indecent proposals, or lewd and indecent act with a child under the age of 16.
Use of a firearm or offensive weapon to commit or attempt to commit a felony, pointing firearms, rioting, inciting to riot, arson, injuring or burning public buildings, sabotage, criminal syndicalism, extortion, obtaining a signature by extortion, a seizure of a bus, mistreatment of a mental patient, using a vehicle to facilitate or discharge of a weapon, bombing, child pornography or aggravated child pornography.
Child prostitution, abuse of a vulnerable adult, aggravated trafficking, aggravated assault and battery upon any person defending another person from assault and battery, human trafficking, terrorism, alluding police officer, looting, not always a violent crime, however, it can be a felony under the right circumstances, and it’s listed as violent in this statute.
Domestic abuse by strangulation or with a dangerous weapon. So those domestics are violent because those are felony offenses that are listed as violent. If it’s simple, domestic assault and battery it’s a misdemeanor and is still not on the violent list, despite some tries to get it put on there. So now this violent crime list, you don’t want to confuse with the 85% crime list. Because in addition to this list of crimes where we don’t want people released early from prison, there’s another list related to something similar.
And that is generally speaking under current law, if someone serves up to 25% of their sentence, they may be eligible for parole. But certain crimes, we don’t want them eligible so earlier. The legislature decided we don’t want them eligible so early. So they come up with a list of 85% of crimes, and those are crimes for which the defendant must serve at least 85% of their sentence before they’re even eligible for parole.
And that is a separate list. That’s not quite as long. And that can be found in title 21, section 13.1. And there’s a lot of carrying over a lot that is on this list are also on the other list. But there are a few differences back and forth.
However, I won’t go through this entire list. You can find it online if you’d like to. And as always, if you have any specific questions regarding your circumstances, don’t take this general advice from the video, seek out a criminal attorney in Tulsa for a private confidential consultation. If you’d like to do that with somebody at my office, you can go online to schedule it and go to makelaweasy.com.
