(A) No person, while under the influence of sudden passion or in a sudden fit of rage, either of which is brought on by serious provocation occasioned by the victim that is reasonably sufficient to incite the person into using deadly force, shall knowingly:

Attorney's Note

Under the Ohio Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Felony of the third degree9 months to 5 yearsup to $10,000
Felony of the fourth degree6 to 18 monthsup to $5,000
For details, see Ohio Code § 2929.14(A)(3) and Ohio Code § 2929.14(A)(4)
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Terms Used In Ohio Code 2903.12

  • Another: when used to designate the owner of property which is the subject of an offense, includes not only natural persons but also every other owner of property. See Ohio Code 1.02
  • Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
  • Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
  • Whoever: includes all persons, natural and artificial; partners; principals, agents, and employees; and all officials, public or private. See Ohio Code 1.02

(1) Cause serious physical harm to another or to another’s unborn;

(2) Cause or attempt to cause physical harm to another or to another’s unborn by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance, as defined in section 2923.11 of the Revised Code.

(B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of aggravated assault. Except as otherwise provided in this division, aggravated assault is a felony of the fourth degree. If the victim of the offense is a peace officer or an investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, aggravated assault is a felony of the third degree. Regardless of whether the offense is a felony of the third or fourth degree under this division, if the offender also is convicted of or pleads guilty to a specification as described in section 2941.1423 of the Revised Code that was included in the indictment, count in the indictment, or information charging the offense, except as otherwise provided in this division, the court shall sentence the offender to a mandatory prison term as provided in division (B)(8) of section 2929.14 of the Revised Code. If the victim of the offense is a peace officer or an investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, and if the victim suffered serious physical harm as a result of the commission of the offense, aggravated assault is a felony of the third degree, and the court, pursuant to division (F) of section 2929.13 of the Revised Code, shall impose as a mandatory prison term one of the definite prison terms prescribed in division (A)(3)(b) of section 2929.14 of the Revised Code for a felony of the third degree.

(C) As used in this section:

(1) “Investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation” has the same meaning as in section 2903.11 of the Revised Code.

(2) “Peace officer” has the same meaning as in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code.