AG Wants Strangulation to Become Felony

Part of effort to curb domestic violence homicides

March 25, 2011
By Luke Hegdal

Strangulation could become a felony crime in Oregon if Attorney General John Kroger has a say. Currently Oregon law lists strangulation as a misdemeanor, but according to Tony Green, spokesman for the Attorney General, there has been an increase in domestic violence homicides.

“Strangulation is a very serious assault,” Green said. “We feel it should be treated as a felony.”

According to Manuel Gutierrez, victims’ advocate for Hermiston Domestic Violence Services, approximately half of the cases he sees involve strangulation.

“We see that a lot,” Gutierrez said, adding that often victims have more injuries than they realize.

Lt. Jason Edmiston of the Hermiston Police Department added that even though HPD saw a 17 percent decline in domestic violence cases last year, they still run into strangulation cases, confirmed by at least two arrests in March. The most recent involved a 17-year-old detained for domestic violence strangulation on March 23.

Lt. Jason Edmiston of the Hermiston Police Department said the number of cases reported is down, and strangulation, because it is a misdemeanor, is often overlooked in felony assault cases.

“It may not be reported to us. It’s something that is very alarming and very concerning,” Edmiston said. “The visible injury may not be present when officers are there.”

Gutierrez added, “The best thing is to go to the hospital to get checked by a doctor.”

A 2007 study conducted by the California State Attorney Office showed that in 62 percent of strangulation cases there were no visible signs of injury. Death can occur as much as several weeks later, even in cases where there were no visible injuries, according to the report.

Other side effects of strangulation include brain damage, lung damage, miscarriage and aspiration pnuemonitis, a condition where gastric acids, swallowed during strangulation, begin to digest lung tissue.

That is what the Attorney General is hoping to curb, according to Green. By making strangulation a felony, Green said, it makes  people think twice and, ultimately, avoid a homicide.

“If it does go to a felony it will probably, across the state, be tracked differently,” Edmiston predicted.

Gutierez also warned against a fad among youth that involves strangulation. Known as “Space Monkey,” youth briefly strangle themselves or friends to get a rush of oxygen to the brain when the pressure is released.

The practice can lead, as in domestic violence cases, to brain damage and death.