In the early hours of July 22, the University
of Georgia police arrested Jon Taylor for felony aggravated assault. Mr. Taylor,
a football player for the university, allegedly choked his girlfriend with his
hands in a domestic dispute.
Under a law that took effect on July 1 of
this year, assault “[w]ith any object, device, or
instrument which, when used offensively against a person, is likely to or
actually does result in strangulation . . .” constitutes felony aggravated assault. It seems that Mr.
Taylor was charged under this new provision.
The courts have had less than a month to
interpret this new statute, so it remains an open question whether an “object, device, or instrument which, when used offensively against
a person, is likely to or actually does result in strangulation” includes an assailant’s hands.
If Mr. Taylor is found guilty of aggravated
assault by strangulation, he may write himself into Georgia’s legal history by challenging
his conviction in the appellate courts.
Reference:
2014 Ga. Laws page ____, § 1 (H.B. 911/Act 576 of the 2014 Georgia
General Assembly) (aggravated assault by strangulation); available at http://www.legis.
ga.gov/Legislation/en-US/display/20132014/HB/911.
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