Senate narrows criminal prohibition on shared intimate images to cover victims killed in related crimes; third substitute adopted

Senator Wyler, floor sponsor of House Bill 147, told the Senate the bill’s third substitute “rolls this back to capture the Lauren McCluskey situation, where a victim of a crime has been killed, that there are intimate photos of them that can’t be shared.” Wyler said the change is intended to criminalize sharing intimate images of homicide victims in the context of an investigation or prosecution of the killing, and to avoid sweeping in consensually shared material unrelated to such investigations.

Wyler framed the amendment as narrowly targeted. She said the earlier version from the House was broader and risked criminalizing circulation of intimate material from deceased people more broadly, which could lead to civil actions by grieving families over consensually shared content. “The third substitute really rolls this back to capture the Lauren McCluskey situation,” Wyler said on the floor.

Senator Owens asked whether the narrower approach would cover cases in which nonfatal circulation of intimate images has led to suicide; Wyler replied that the existing revenge-image law already covers many of those cases and that the third substitute is a “slight expansion” tied to homicide prosecutions, not a change to protections for living victims.

The Senate adopted the third substitute and voted to read House Bill 147 for a third time; the clerk recorded 24 yay votes, 0 nay votes and 5 absent. The sponsor said the change was meant to avoid unintended consequences for families of the deceased while ensuring that sharing intimate images that bear on a homicide investigation or prosecution remains a criminal offense.

What's next: The bill, as amended, will proceed for third-reading processing and transmittal as required by Senate rules.