Okla. lawmaker plans bill on 'knockout game'
At least 2 deaths linked to assaults, ABC News reports
Published 11:31 PM CST Nov 26, 2013


OKLAHOMA CITY �An Oklahoma lawmaker said he wants to address the "knockout game" with harsher penalties.

Police in several states, including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, have reported violent attacks that have been linked to this sometimes deadly game that's garnered attention recently on the Internet.

People who are playing the game have reportedly punched strangers so hard that the victims fall over unconscious. At least two deaths have been linked to the assaults, according to ABC News.


Oklahoma State Rep. Bobby Cleveland, R-Slaughterville, plans to introduce a bill in the upcoming legislative session that would make an unprovoked battery a felony charge rather than a misdemeanor.

He said current laws are not tough enough. He wants teenagers to be tried as adults in these crimes.

"The only way it could be considered a felony is if you break a limb," said Cleveland. "If you don't break a limb, it's considered a misdemeanor in Oklahoma."

Cleveland said he also plans to create a harsher penalty, hoping those convicted would face a minimum of 10 years in prison.



Read more: http://www.koco.com/news/oklahomane...624/-/3yp4etz/-/index.html#ixzz2lrBPm100

So getting a jaw ruined for life or going blind from retinal detachment could result in only misdemeanor charges. Dayom.

Eyeball, USUALLY, it is the level of injury(ies)that determines the level. Here just a punch with no physical injury is harassment, a violation. Physical injury that REQUIRES medical attention is Assalt 3d a misdemeanor and serious injury is an Assault 2d, a Class "D" felony. YMMV by state.

I thought aggravated assault and hate crimes were a felony already?

If they want to really pass a law that will put a stop to this, pass a law that allows everyone to carry a firearm for personal protection with no permit issued...open, concealed, doesn't matter.

If they think they might get their head blown off their shoulders, they may not be so willing to participate.

Followed by execution.

Sounds like half the western United States

followed by resuscitation and repeat a dozen times while removing a body part each time to keep count..

Frikkin bastards...

Did stuff like this happen when there was a KKK?

I don't know about anyplace else, but that schit has been going on around here since at least the '60's. It used to be called "japping". Suddenly it is worse? It sure as Hell ain't new.

I know the answer to this question, but why isn't each of these cases tried as a hate crime?

I agree with that. An out of the blue haymaker to the head of an unsuspecting and unprepared person should be classified as very close to attempted murder. A simple assault charge doesn't come close to adequately addressing it. We're not talking about someone talking trash, leading to a blow, which is what most think of as simple assault. At least in that case, a person can anticipate the blow and make some sort of physical preparation for receiving and/or dealing with it.

Can't argue with that.

This is true. In New York City Italian neighborhoods of old (talking about pre-1960s), this was a common way people of Italian descent would respond to blacks "encroaching" on the neighborhood, i.e., casually walk up next to the guy, and out of the blue land a haymaker to the face. They generally avoided Italian neighborhoods after that happened a few times.

My dad grew up in such neighborhoods, from whom I get the information.