Senate Bill No. 1003
(By Senator Withers)
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[Introduced March 14, 1994;
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact sections ten, twelve and twelve-a,
article five, chapter sixty-one of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
relating to crimes and their punishment; crimes against
public justice; and criminal penalties for escape from jail
or other confinement.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections ten, twelve and twelve-a, article five,
chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 5. CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC JUSTICE.
§61-5-10. Jail or private prison breaking by convicted or
unconvicted prisoner; penalties.
(a) Any person confined in jail on conviction of a felony,
who escapes therefrom by force, violence or by any subterfuge,
device or deception, is guilty of a felony, and, upon convictionthereof, shall be confined in the penitentiary for up to five
years; and if he be confined in jail on conviction of a
misdemeanor, he is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be confined in jail not more than one year.
(b) If any person be lawfully confined in jail or private
prison and not sentenced on conviction of a criminal offense,
escape therefrom by any means, such person shall: (i) If he be
confined upon a charge of a felony, be guilty of an additional
felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in the
penitentiary not more than five years; or (ii) if he be confined
upon a charge of a misdemeanor, be guilty of an additional
misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in
jail not more than one year.
(c) If any person is lawfully confined in a private prison
and escapes therefrom by force, violence or by any subterfuge,
device or deception, he or she shall be guilty of a felony, and,
upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned for not more than
five years.
§61-5-12. Escapes from, and other offenses relating to, state
benevolent and correctional institution, or private prison
or mental health facilities; penalties.
Except where otherwise provided, whoever abducts any person
who is an inmate or patient of any state benevolent or
correctional institution, private prison or mental health
facility is guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary for not more than fiveyears. Whoever persuades, induces or entices, or attempts to
persuade, induce or entice, any person who is an inmate or
patient of any such institution, private prison or facility to
escape therefrom, or whoever conceals or harbors any such person,
knowing him or her to have run away from any such institution,
private prison or facility, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than one hundred nor
more than one thousand dollars, and in addition thereto, in the
discretion of the court, may be imprisoned in the county jail not
more than six months.
Any fugitive from any state benevolent or correctional
institution, private prison or mental health facility, may, on
the order of the superintendent or other officer of such
institution or facility, be arrested and returned to such
institution or facility, or to any officer or agent thereof, by
any sheriff, police officer or other person, and may also be
arrested and returned by any officer or agent of such
institution, private prison or facility.
Whoever trespasses, idles, lounges or loiters upon the
grounds of any other state benevolent or correctional
institution, private prison or mental health facility or
communicates, or attempts to communicate, by signals, signs,
writings or otherwise with any inmate or patient of such
institution, private prison or facility, or conveys or assists in
any way in establishing communication between an inmate or
patient of such institution, private prison or facility and anyperson or persons outside thereof, except as authorized by the
rules or regulations in force by the authority governing the
same, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be fined not less than twenty nor more than five hundred
dollars, or imprisoned not more than thirty days in the county
jail, or both, in the discretion of the court or magistrate.
Whoever, with intent to defraud, purchases, accepts as a gift, or
secures by barter or trade, or in any other manner, any article
of clothing from an inmate or patient of any state benevolent or
correctional institution, private prison or mental health
facility issued to him or her, by any officer of such institution
or facility, or by any private correctional officer of such
private prison for his or her use, or, with such intent, secures
any other article or articles belonging to any inmate or patient
of such institution, private prison or facility or to such
institution, private prison or facility from an inmate or patient
thereof, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined a sum not less than double the value of
such articles, except that in no case shall the fine be less than
one hundred dollars. Magistrates shall have jurisdiction of all
misdemeanors included in this paragraph, concurrently with the
circuit court.
§61-5-12a. Escape from custody of the commissioner of
corrections.
Any person who escapes from the custody of the commissioner
of corrections, regardless of where such person is confined orwhere such escape occurs, is guilty of a felony, and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary not
more than five years. A term of imprisonment imposed pursuant to
the provisions of this section shall be imposed as a consecutive
sentence and shall not be served concurrently with any
imprisonment, confinement or detention imposed under any prior
sentence being served or otherwise being discharged at the time
such person commits an offense under the provisions of this
section. A person charged with an offense under the provisions
of this section shall not be released from the custody of the
commissioner of corrections while the prosecution of the alleged
offense is pending: Provided, That time served by such person
after any other prior sentence has been served or otherwise
discharged shall be applied to any sentence which may ultimately
be imposed for an offense under this section. Venue for the
prosecution of a violation of this section shall be in the county
in which the escape occurs.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to make the sentence for
the crime of escaping from prison or other confinement a definite
turn not to exceed five years.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.