SB 256/the Teen Killer Empowerment Act has inflicted devastating harm upon victims. Listed on this page are actions you can take to address this traumatic law and fight for justice.
We will note that you DO NOT have to be a current or former Ohio resident to join our fight.
Sign Our Petition
We have created a change.org petition to the Ohio Senate, Ohio House, and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. Please sign.
Change law that could release murderers Gavon Ramsay & Jacob LaRosa
Donate
Please donate to our cause through GiveSendGo.
My grandmother, Marie Rose Belcastro, was murdered in 2015 by Jacob Larosa. Thank God, Larosa was caught that night. 42 months later, he was sentenced to life without parole +31 years by a common sense judge in Trumbull County, OH.
However, in April of 2021, with no input from me or my family, the legislature and governor implemented a new law that will give my grandmother’s killer a shot at parole in 19 years, and then every 5 years after that.
That is why I’m fighting for my family, and yours. That is why I helped found the Ohio Coalition for Safety and Fairness (https://ohiocsf.com/). Our goal is in our name–we want safety and fairness for crime victims and for all of society. Unfortunately, the legislation I referred to has taken away safety and fairness in Ohio. It gives true pain to victims, and false hope to prisoners.
This new law is known as Senate Bill 256, but I like to call it the “Teen Killer Empowerment Act.”
The Teen Killer Empowerment Act, or TKEA, mandates parole eligibility for almost all juvenile criminals at the expense of victims, who are denied justice and re-traumatized at endless parole hearings, and at the expense of society, which is endangered by the release of these offenders. For more, please see https://ohiocsf.com/?page_id=60
We at OCSF have been personally impacted by SB 256. Our family members were murdered by juveniles, who will now be allowed to repeatedly torment us at parole hearings. Others of us are victim advocates who will be supporting victims through the traumatic parole process.
OCSF would like to amend the law and make it fairer to victims, who, all too often, are disregarded by activists and politicians. We also are fighting for the safety of the public. We are not a non-profit, because we will be functioning in the political realm, so we desperately need funding for mailings, travel to Ohio, and ad buys on social media and broadcast platforms around the state.
TKEA could specifically free Gavon Ramsay, who strangled a 98-year-old woman to death and sexually assaulted her dead body. It could also free Larosa, who attempted to rape my 94-year-old grandmother, and beat her to death with a MAG flashlight.Unfortunately, the 133rd Ohio General Assembly put the interests of murderers like Jacob Larosa and Gavon Ramsay above the interests of innocent victims and the general public. TKEA passed in large part due to the power of juvenile offender advocates, including the ACLU, and other George Soros-backed ventures.
The movement to mandate parole hearings for all juvenile criminals is extremely well-funded and has been traumatizing victims for many years. Victims, on the other hand, have very little power. The National Organization of Victims of Juvenile Murderers (https://teenkillers.org/), which represents victims around the entire country, has no funding.
As explained here https://teenkillers.org/juvenile-lifers/how-the-movement-to-free-teen-killers-hurts-victims/, juvenile offender advocates most often operate without any concern for victims, as they lie, use hurtful & deceitful propaganda, and promote laws that trap victims in cycles of traumatizing hearings. Murder victims’ families are given life sentences of their own, and to treat victims like this is absolutely cruel.
This has to stop.
Money donated to OCSF will go toward a multi-front campaign to overturn this awful law. Front 1 is to seek an immediate injunction against TKEA. It violates the Ohio Constitution’s Bill of Victims Rights (aka Marsy’s Law). Front 2 is to lobby for a legislative solution, this session, to offer heightened legal protections for victims, and to undo the retroactive overturning of previous life without parole sentences that have been given to teen killers. Front 3, if necessary, will lay the groundwork for a Constitutional Amendment in the State of Ohio that repeals SB256.
It is ridiculous that Gavon Ramsay, a sexual sadist necrophiliac murderer, has more support than the family of the woman he murdered. Gavon chose his sentence. His victims did not. The same goes for Jacob Larosa, who will be just 40 years old at his first parole hearing.
Please help us by donating, and by contact your state representative, state senator, and the Governor of Ohio. Tell them to FIX SB256.
Thank you, and God bless you.
From our GiveSendGoPage
Email The Legislature
Listed below are the emails of every single lawmaker in Ohio. Just copy and paste these addresses in the address block. You can use the letter provided below or create your own letter.
Dear Ohio Legislature/Ohio Senate/Ohio House/Senator/Representative,
My name is ______. I am a former/current resident of _____Ohio (if applicable). I am emailing to express outrage about the enactment of Senate Bill 256. SB 256 mandates parole hearings for almost all juvenile offenders, including those responsible for the most horrific crimes. This unjust law devalues and re-traumatizes victims, demeans crimes, and endangers society. Furthermore, SB 256 is legally unnecessary, as the Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that life without parole is a constitutional sentence for juvenile murderers. Please show compassion for victims and amend this law.
Emails
Contact Your Representative
Current Ohio citizens should contact the lawmakers representing their districts. If you no longer live in Ohio, or if you are a current Ohio citizen who has lived in different parts of Ohio, contact the lawmakers representing your former residence(s).
Find your representative here. Find your senator here. Determine who your representative is here and determine who your senator is here.
You can call your local politicians and/or email them (perhaps send an email directed at them specifically). Also consider writing a letter in the snail mail.
Did Your Local Politician Vote For The Teen Killer Empowerment Act?
Listed are politicians who voted for the TKEA. Find out if your local politician supported this harmful bill and communicate to them your disappointment if they did.
Senate
Nickie Antonio (D)
Louis W. Blessing, III (R)
Andrew O. Brenner (R)
Dave Burke (R)
Hearcel Craig (D)
Matt Dolan (R)
John Eklund (R)
Teresa Fedor (D)
Theresa Gavarone (R)
Bob D. Hackett (R)
Jay Hottinger (R)
Matt Huffman (R)
Stephen A. Huffman (R)
Terry Johnson (R)
Stephanie Kunze (R)
Peggy Lehner (R)
Tina Maharath (D)
Nathan H. Manning (R)
Rob McColley (R)
Larry Obhof (R)
Bob Peterson (R)
Kristina Roegner (R)
Michael A. Rulli (R)
Kirk Schuring (R)
Vernon Sykes (D)
Cecil Thomas (D)
Sandra R. Williams (D)
Steve Wilson (R)
Kenny Yuko (D)
House
Cindy Abrams (R)
Brian Baldridge (R)
John Becker (R)
Kristin Boggs (D)
Juanita Brent (D)
Tom Brinkman (R)
Jamie Callender (R)
Rick Carfagna (R)
Sara Carruthers (R)
Jack Cera (D)
Randi Clites (D)
Erica C. Crawley (D)
Jeffrey Crossman (D)
Robert R. Cupp (R)
Al Cutrona (R)
Bill Dean (R)
Sedrick Denson (D)
Mark Fraizer (R)
Tavia Galonski (D)
Haraz N. Ghanbari (R)
Timothy Ginter (R)
Doug Green (R)
Dave Greenspan (R)
Stephen D. Hambley (R)
Paula Hicks Hudson (D)
Brett Hudson Hillyer (R)
Adam Holmes (R)
Ron Hood (R)
James M. Hoops (R)
Stephanie Howse (D)
Catherine D. Ingram (D)
Don Jones (R)
Kris Jordan (R)
Candice R. Keller (R)
Brigid Kelly (D)
Darrell Kick (R)
J. Kyle Koehler (R)
Jeff LaRe (R)
Laura Lanese (R)
George F. Lang (R)
David Leland (D)
Mary Lightbody (D)
P. Scott Lipps (R)
Beth Liston (D)
Susan Manchester (R)
Gayle Manning (R)
Riordan T. McClain (R)
Adam C. Miller (D)
Joe Miller (D)
Jessica Miranda (D)
Scott Oelslager (R)
Rick Perales (R)
Phil Plummer (R)
Bill Reineke (R)
Tracy Richardson (R)
Craig S. Riedel (R)
Phil Robinson (D)
Bill Roemer (R)
Mark J. Romanchuk (R)
Allison Russo (D)
William Seitz (R)
Michael Sheehy (D)
Michael Skindell (D)
Kent Smith (D)
Todd Smith (R)
Lisa Sobecki (D)
Dick Stein (R)
Jason Stephens (R)
Reggie Stoltzfus (R)
Fred Strahorn (D)
D. J. Swearingen (R)
Bride Rose Sweeney (D)
Emilia Strong Sykes (D)
Thomas West (D)
Shane Wilkin (R)
Contact Governor DeWine
Contact Governor DeWine here. You can use the letter provided below or create your own letter.
Dear Governor DeWine,
My name is ______. I am a former/current resident of Ohio (if applicable). I am emailing to express outrage about the enactment of Senate Bill 256. SB 256 mandates parole hearings for almost all juvenile offenders, including those responsible for the most horrific crimes. This unjust law devalues and re-traumatizes victims, demeans crimes, and endangers society. Furthermore, SB 256 is legally unnecessary, as the Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that life without parole is a constitutional sentence for juvenile murderers. Please show compassion for victims and amend this law.
Contact SB 256 Sponsors
The main sponsors of 256 are Senator Nathan Manning (Manning@ohiosenate.gov) and former Senator Peggy Lehner.
Co-sponsors include:
Representatives
Erica C. Crawley (rep26@ohiohouse.gov)
Jeffrey Crossman (rep15@ohiohouse.gov)
Al Cutrona (rep59@ohiohouse.gov)
Tavia Galonski (rep35@ohiohouse.gov)
Catherine D. Ingram (rep32@ohiohouse.gov)
George F. Lang (now a senator) (Lang@ohiosenate.gov)
David Leland (rep22@ohiohouse.gov)
Mary Lightbody (rep19@ohiohouse.gov)
Joe Miller (rep56@ohiohouse.gov)
C. Allison Russo (rep24@ohiohouse.gov)
William Seitz (rep30@ohiohouse.gov)
Michael Sheehy (rep46@ohiohouse.gov)
Kent Smith (rep08@ohiohouse.gov)
J. Todd Smith
Lisa Sobecki (rep45@ohiohouse.gov)
Bride Rose Sweeney (rep14@ohiohouse.gov)
Emilia Strong Sykes (rep34@ohiohouse.gov)
Thomas West (rep49@ohiohouse.gov)
Senators
Nickie Antonio (Antonio@ohiosenate.gov)
Louis W. Blessing, III (Blessing@ohiosenate.gov)
Dave Burke
Hearcel Craig (Craig@ohiosenate.gov)
Matt Dolan (Dolan@ohiosenate.gov)
John Eklund
Teresa Fedor (Fedor@ohiosenate.gov)
Bob D. Hackett (Hackett@ohiosenate.gov)
Jay Hottinger (Hottinger@ohiosenate.gov)
Stephen A. Huffman (sd05@ohiosenate.gov)
Stephanie Kunze (Kunze@ohiosenate.gov)
Tina Maharath (Maharath@ohiosenate.gov)
Vernon Sykes (Sykes@ohiosenate.gov)
Cecil Thomas (Thomas@ohiosenate.gov)
Sandra R. Williams (Williams@ohiosenate.gov)
Steve Wilson (Wilson@ohiosenate.gov)
Email all sponsors of SB 256 who are currently in the Legislature. You can use the letter provided below.
Dear SB 256 sponsors/Senator/Representative,
My name is ______. I am a former/current resident of _____Ohio (if applicable). I am emailing to express outrage about the enactment of Senate Bill 256, which you sponsored. SB 256 mandates parole hearings for almost all juvenile offenders, including those responsible for the most horrific crimes. This unjust law devalues and re-traumatizes victims, demeans crimes, and endangers society. Furthermore, SB 256 is legally unnecessary, as the Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that life without parole is a constitutional sentence for juvenile murderers. Please show compassion for victims and amend this law.
Here are the emails of all SB 256 sponsors who are still in the Legislature.
rep26@ohiohouse.gov
rep15@ohiohouse.gov
rep59@ohiohouse.gov
rep35@ohiohouse.gov
rep32@ohiohouse.gov
sd04@ohiosenate.gov
rep22@ohiohouse.gov
rep19@ohiohouse.gov
rep56@ohiohouse.gov
rep24@ohiohouse.gov
rep30@ohiohouse.gov
rep46@ohiohouse.gov
rep08@ohiohouse.gov
rep45@ohiohouse.gov
rep14@ohiohouse.gov
rep34@ohiohouse.gov
rep49@ohiohouse.gov
Antonio@ohiosenate.gov
Blessing@ohiosenate.gov
Craig@ohiosenate.gov
Dolan@ohiosenate.gov
Fedor@ohiosenate.gov
Hackett@ohiosenate.gov
Hottinger@ohiosenate.gov
sd05@ohiosenate.gov
Kunze@ohiosenate.gov
Maharath@ohiosenate.gov
Sykes@ohiosenate.gov
Thomas@ohiosenate.gov
Williams@ohiosenate.gov
Wilson@ohiosenate.gov
Learn, Follow, And Spread The Word
Please look around our website. This page contains information and resources.
Inform your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and everyone you know about us and our fight.
Like and share our Facebook and Twitter pages.
Hold Teen Killer Empowerment Act Supporters Responsible
The Teen Killer Empowerment Act was supported by the Alliance for Safety and Justice, Americans for Prosperity, Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, Office of the Public Defender, Ohio Justice & Policy Center, Players Coalition, Represent Justice, and Responsible Business Initiative for Justice.
Supporters of the TKEA are directly responsible for the harms caused by this legislation.
Want To Do More?
Email novjmohio@gmail.com if you want to do more.