Ohio Code 2929.34 – Where imprisonment to be served
(A) A person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to aggravated murder, murder, or an offense punishable by life imprisonment and who is sentenced to a term of life imprisonment or a prison term pursuant to that conviction shall serve that term in an institution under the control of the department of rehabilitation and correction.
Attorney's Note
Under the Ohio Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Felony of the fourth degree | 6 to 18 months | up to $5,000 |
| Felony of the fifth degree | 6 to 12 months | up to $2,500 |
Terms Used In Ohio Code 2929.34
- Community-based correctional facility: means a community-based correctional facility and program or district community-based correctional facility and program developed pursuant to sections 2301. See Ohio Code 2929.01
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- imprisonment: means being imprisoned under a sentence imposed for an offense or serving a term of imprisonment, prison term, jail term, term of local incarceration, or other term under a sentence imposed for an offense in an institution under the control of the department of rehabilitation and correction, a county, multicounty, municipal, municipal-county, or multicounty-municipal jail or workhouse, a minimum security jail, a community-based correctional facility, or another facility described or referred to in section 2929. See Ohio Code 1.05
- Jail: means a jail, workhouse, minimum security jail, or other residential facility used for the confinement of alleged or convicted offenders that is operated by a political subdivision or a combination of political subdivisions of this state. See Ohio Code 2929.01
- Jail term: means the term in a jail that a sentencing court imposes or is authorized to impose pursuant to section 2929. See Ohio Code 2929.01
- Mandatory prison term: means any of the following:
(1) Subject to division (X)(2) of this section, the term in prison that must be imposed for the offenses or circumstances set forth in divisions (F)(1) to (8) or (F)(12) to (21) of section 2929. See Ohio Code 2929.01
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Offender: means a person who, in this state, is convicted of or pleads guilty to a felony or a misdemeanor. See Ohio Code 2929.01
- Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Prison: means a residential facility used for the confinement of convicted felony offenders that is under the control of the department of rehabilitation and correction and includes a violation sanction center operated under authority of section 2967. See Ohio Code 2929.01
- Prison term: includes either of the following sanctions for an offender:
(a) A stated prison term;
(b) A term in a prison shortened by, or with the approval of, the sentencing court pursuant to section 2929. See Ohio Code 2929.01
- Sentence: means the sanction or combination of sanctions imposed by the sentencing court on an offender who is convicted of or pleads guilty to an offense. See Ohio Code 2929.01
- state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
(B)(1) A person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to a felony other than aggravated murder, murder, or an offense punishable by life imprisonment and who is sentenced to a term of imprisonment or a prison term pursuant to that conviction shall serve that term as follows:
(a) Subject to divisions (B)(1)(b), (B)(2), and (B)(3) of this section, in an institution under the control of the department of rehabilitation and correction if the term is a prison term or as otherwise determined by the sentencing court pursuant to section 2929.16 of the Revised Code if the term is not a prison term;
(b) In a facility of a type described in division (G)(1) of section 2929.13 of the Revised Code, if the offender is sentenced pursuant to that division.
(2) If the term is a prison term, the person may be imprisoned in a jail that is not a minimum security jail pursuant to agreement under section 5120.161 of the Revised Code between the department of rehabilitation and correction and the local authority that operates the jail.
(3)(a) As used in divisions (B)(3)(a) to (d) of this section, “voluntary county” means any county in which the board of county commissioners of the county and the administrative judge of the general division of the court of common pleas of the county enter into an agreement of the type described in division (B)(3)(b) of this section and in which the agreement has not been terminated as described in that division.
(b)(i) In any voluntary county, the board of county commissioners of the county and the administrative judge of the general division of the court of common pleas of the county may agree to having the county participate in the targeted community alternatives to prison (T-CAP) program for prisoners who serve a term in a facility pursuant to division (B)(3)(c) of this section by submitting a memorandum of understanding, either as a single county or jointly with other counties, to the department of rehabilitation and correction for approval, pursuant to section 5149.38 of the Revised Code. A board of county commissioners and an administrative judge of a court of common pleas that enter into an agreement of the type described in this division may terminate the agreement, but a termination under this division shall take effect only at the end of the state fiscal biennium in which the termination decision is made.
(ii) The department of rehabilitation and correction shall establish deadlines for a voluntary county to indicate the voluntary county’s participation in the targeted community alternatives to prison (T-CAP) program before each state fiscal biennium.
(iii) In reviewing a submitted memorandum of understanding for approval, the department of rehabilitation and correction shall prioritize a voluntary county that has previously been a voluntary county. The department of rehabilitation and correction may review a memorandum of understanding for a new voluntary county if the general assembly has appropriated sufficient funds for that purpose.
(c) Except as provided in division (B)(3)(d) of this section, in any voluntary county, either division (B)(3)(c)(i) or divisions (B)(3)(c)(i) and (ii) of this section shall apply:
(i) On and after July 1, 2018, no person sentenced by the court of common pleas of a voluntary county to a prison term for a felony of the fifth degree shall serve the term in an institution under the control of the department of rehabilitation and correction. The person shall instead serve the sentence as a term of confinement in a facility of a type described in division (C) or (D) of this section.
(ii) On and after September 1, 2022, no person sentenced by the court of common pleas of a voluntary county to a prison term for a felony of the fourth degree shall serve the term in an institution under the control of the department of rehabilitation and correction. The person shall instead serve the sentence as a term of confinement in a facility of a type described in division (C) or (D) of this section.
Nothing in this division relieves the state of its obligation to pay for the cost of confinement of the person in a community-based correctional facility under division (D) of this section.
(d) Division (B)(3)(c) of this section does not apply to any person to whom any of the following apply:
(i) The felony of the fourth or fifth degree was an offense of violence, as defined in section 2901.01 of the Revised Code, a sex offense under Chapter 2907 of the Revised Code, a violation of section 2925.03 of the Revised Code, or any offense for which a mandatory prison term is required.
(ii) The person previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any felony offense of violence, as defined in section 2901.01 of the Revised Code, unless the felony of the fifth degree for which the person is being sentenced is a violation of division (I)(1) of section 2903.43 of the Revised Code.
(iii) The person previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any felony sex offense under Chapter 2907 of the Revised Code.
(iv) The person’s sentence is required to be served concurrently to any other sentence imposed upon the person for a felony that is required to be served in an institution under the control of the department of rehabilitation and correction.
(C) A person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to one or more misdemeanors and who is sentenced to a jail term or term of imprisonment pursuant to the conviction or convictions shall serve that term in a county, multicounty, municipal, municipal-county, or multicounty-municipal jail or workhouse; in a community alternative sentencing center or district community alternative sentencing center when authorized by section 307.932 of the Revised Code; or, if the misdemeanor or misdemeanors are not offenses of violence, in a minimum security jail.
(D) Nothing in this section prohibits the commitment, referral, or sentencing of a person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to a felony to a community-based correctional facility.
Last updated August 4, 2023 at 11:38 AM