'Andy's Law' would increase penalties for inmates who kill prison employees

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – An Ohio bill named after a corrections officer who was killed by an inmate on Christmas morning seeks to increase the penalties for incarcerated people who harm prison employees. 

House Bill 338, sponsored by Reps. Mark Johnson (R-Chillicothe) and Phil Plummer (R-Dayton), would “reform Ohio’s prisons” and make them safer places to work, according to the lawmakers.

The legislation was named Andy’s Law in honor of Andrew Lansing, a 62-year-old corrections officer at the Ross County Correctional Institution who died after being assaulted by an inmate in 2024. Authorities identified the inmate as Rashawn Cannon, 28, who pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder in connection with the killing and awaits trial.

The measure would create a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole for incarcerated individuals who murder Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections or Department of Youth Services employees, while leaving the door open for the death penalty.

Under current state law, individuals convicted of aggravated murder – the charge typically brought in such cases – could already face life in prison without parole or the death penalty. However, judges have the ability to grant parole eligibility after 20 years. 

“These sweeping changes are necessary to show DRC and DYS employees that their safety is valued by the state,” Johnson and Plummer wrote in testimony for an Oct. 15 hearing. “It’s shameful that it took the death of a husband and father for us to realize there needs to be changes made to our prison system, but, as Legislators, we need to do everything in our power to prevent another death.”

The proposal would also create a mandatory seven-year prison sentence for inmates who commit felonious assault against correctional employees, along with a mandatory three-year sentence for assault, according to the lawmakers. 

The bill seeks to ensure all level three and level four prisons – which house medium- to high-risk offenders – use a drug-sniffing dog that is exclusively assigned to their institution within two years of the bill taking effect. It would require all lower-level prisons to deploy K-9s within five years. 

HB 338 would also would increase the penalty for smuggling drugs into a government facility from a third-degree felony to a first-degree felony in relation to correctional institutions. 

“Inmates that are bringing drugs in and assaulting officers are not facing serious enough repercussions to deter them from [committing] these violations in the future,” the lawmakers wrote. “As a result, the staff vacancy rate at many prisons, especially level 3 prisons, is approaching a critical level.”

Under the legislation, the DRC would be required to hire a consultant to help address the staffing crisis. The bill also would ban physical contact between inmates and visitors in all level three and level four prisons. 

Gabe Davis, CEO of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center, a nonprofit law firm that works to reduce mass incarceration, said his organization is reviewing the “complicated” and “nuanced” bill thoroughly. 

HB 338, introduced in June, awaits further hearings and public testimony. The bill has six Republican cosponsors.