Share:
House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | November 14, 2019 09:08 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative James B. Struzzi, II |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Cody’s Law to Protect Those That Cannot Protect Themselves |
| In the near future, I intend to introduce legislation that amends Section 2702 (relating to aggravated assault) of the Crimes Code to provide that any individual that intentionally causes bodily injury to a person with a physical or intellectual disability is guilty of aggravated assault, a felony of the second degree. The need for this legislation was made abundantly clear after Cody Overdorff, a young man with physical and intellectual disabilities, was ruthlessly lured, attacked and beaten by a group of four people without provocation. While this group was arrested for the assault, they were only charged with misdemeanors as Mr. Overdorff’s injuries did not constitute “serious bodily injury.” I believe that individuals that target vulnerable and helpless victims pose a significant threat to our society and should be subject to harsher penalties under the law. Please join me in co-sponsoring this legislation to help prevent any further acts of violence against individuals with physical and intellectual disabilities and better protect and serve our Commonwealth residents. |
Introduced as HB2056