H. B. 2858
(By Delegates Given, Kelley, Amores and Staton)
[Introduced January 14, 1998; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend article two, chapter sixty-one of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
one-a, relating to creating the felony offense of murder by
abuse or neglect of a child in the first degree; providing
definitions; and criminal penalty.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article two, chapter sixty-one of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
one-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON.
§61-2-1a. Murder by abuse or neglect in the first degree.
(a) A person is guilty of murder by abuse or neglect or both abuse and neglect in the first degree when that person recklessly
causes the death of a child and has engaged in an act or previous
pattern of abuse or neglect of that child.
(b) For the purpose of this section:
(1) "Child" means any person who has not yet reached that
person's fourteenth birthday.
(2) "Child abuse" and "neglect" have the same meaning as
defined under the provisions of section three, article one,
chapter forty-nine of this code relating to child welfare.
(3) "Previous pattern" of abuse or neglect means two or more
incidents of conduct: (i) That constitute an act of abuse or
neglect or both abuse and neglect, and (ii) are not so closely
related to each other or connected in time and place that they
constitute a single event.
(c) A conviction is not required for an act of abuse or
neglect to be used in the prosecution of a matter under this
section including an act used as proof of the previous pattern as
defined in subsection (3) of this section. A conviction for any
act of abuse or neglect including one which may be relied upon to
establish the previous pattern of abuse or neglect or both abuse
and neglect does not preclude prosecution under this section.
Prosecution under this section does not preclude prosecution
under any other section of this code.
(d) Murder by abuse or neglect shall be punished by
confinement in the penitentiary for life.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the felony
criminal offense of murder by abuse or neglect of a child.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.