Judy’s Law is an Ohio state law, not a national one. It applies only within Ohio, where it took effect on October 17, 2017, as House Bill 63. No other state has enacted legislation under that name, and no federal version has been introduced in Congress.
What Judy’s Law Does in Ohio
The statute adds a mandatory six-year prison term to a felonious assault conviction when the attacker used an accelerant and the victim suffered permanent, serious disfigurement or permanent, substantial incapacity.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2941-1425 – Use of Accelerant in Committing Violent Felony An “accelerant” means any fuel or oxidizing agent used to start a fire or increase its spread, such as gasoline or lighter fluid. The law was written with deliberate burning attacks in mind.
The six years are not a range. If the jury convicts on both the underlying assault and the accelerant specification, the judge must impose the full six years, and that time runs consecutively and before any other prison term the offender owes.2Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2929-14 – Definite Prison Terms The clock on the assault sentence does not start until the six years are served.
The law is named for Judy Malinowski, a Columbus woman who was set on fire by her ex-boyfriend in 2015 and died in June 2017 from her injuries. The Ohio Senate passed the bill unanimously the day after her death, and Governor John Kasich signed it that September.3Dispatch. ‘Judy’s Law’ Passes Ohio Senate 33-0 the Day After Her Death
Why It Applies Only in Ohio
Criminal sentencing in the United States is overwhelmingly handled state by state. Each state writes its own assault statutes, sets its own penalty ranges, and decides which enhancements to attach. One state’s sentencing rule does not carry over into another. Judy’s Law was passed by the Ohio General Assembly and codified in the Ohio Revised Code, and its reach stops at Ohio’s borders.4Ohio Legislature. House Bill 63 Summary
Any other state could pass its own version, but each would have to move its own bill through its own legislature. As of 2026, none has done so under this name, and no federal bill carrying the title has been introduced.
What Federal Law Covers
Federal criminal law does address intentional disfigurement, but the reach is narrow. The federal maiming statute makes it a crime to intentionally disfigure someone by throwing scalding water, corrosive acid, or a caustic substance, and it carries up to 20 years in prison. That statute applies only within “special maritime and territorial jurisdiction” — federal property such as military bases, national parks, and federal buildings.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 114 – Maiming Within Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction It does not reach an attack that happens on a residential street or in a private home.
Federal sentencing guidelines also let judges raise sentences by several levels when a crime causes permanent or life-threatening bodily injury, but those guidelines apply only in federal prosecutions. Most domestic violence and assault cases are charged in state court, which is why state-level laws determine what actually happens in the vast majority of these prosecutions.
Efforts to Expand the Law
Judy’s Foundation, established in Malinowski’s memory, has said it wants other states to pass comparable legislation and eventually to see a federal version.6Judy’s Foundation. ‘Judy’s Law’ Becomes Ohio’s Law That expansion has not happened. No other state legislature appears to have advanced a bill modeled specifically on Ohio’s approach, and no federal counterpart has been introduced as of early 2026.
Victims outside Ohio are not without options. Most states impose stiffer penalties for assaults that cause permanent injury, and many have domestic violence sentencing enhancements. What sets Ohio’s statute apart is the mandatory, consecutive six-year term tied specifically to the use of an accelerant. Elsewhere, judges may still hand down long sentences for fire-based attacks, but they usually have more discretion over how many years to impose.