Senate Bill No. 581
(By Senators Wooton, Ball, Bowman, Dittmar, Fanning, Hunter,
Kessler, Oliverio, Ross, Schoonover, Snyder, White, Buckalew,
Kimble and Scott)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported February 17, 1998.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section nineteen, article twelve,
chapter sixty-two of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to clarifying
that authority to issue parole violator warrants rests in the
commissioner of corrections; and authorizing division of
corrections to assess costs for returning violators where
parolee is able to pay.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section nineteen, article twelve, chapter sixty-two of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 12. PROBATION AND PAROLE.
§62-12-19. Violation of parole.
(a) If at any time during the period of parole, there shall be
reasonable cause to believe that the parolee has violated any of
the conditions of his release on parole, the probation and parole officer may arrest him with or without an order or warrant, or the
board of probation and parole commissioner of corrections may issue
its written order or warrant for his arrest, which written order or
warrant shall be sufficient for his arrest by any officer charged
with the duty of executing an ordinary criminal process. The
board's commissioner's written order or warrant delivered to the
sheriff against the paroled prisoner shall be a command to keep
custody of the parolee for the jurisdiction of the board division
of corrections, and during the period of custody, the parolee may
be admitted to bail by the court before which the parolee was
sentenced. If the parolee is not released on a bond, the costs of
confining such paroled prisoner shall be paid out of the funds
appropriated for the penitentiary from which he was paroled
division of corrections.
(b) When a parolee is under arrest for violation of the
conditions of his parole, he shall be given a prompt and summary
hearing, at which the parolee and his counsel shall be given an
opportunity to attend. If at the hearing, it shall appear to the
satisfaction of the board that the parolee has violated any
condition of his release on parole, or any rules and regulations
for his supervision, the board may revoke his parole and may
require him to serve in prison the remainder or any portion of his
maximum sentence for which, at the time of his release, he was
subject to imprisonment: Provided, That if the violation of the
conditions of parole or rules and regulations for his supervision is not a felony as set out in section eighteen of this article, the
board may, if in its judgment the best interests of justice do not
require that the parole be revoked, release him from custody and
continue him on parole.
(c) When a parolee has violated the conditions of his release
on parole by confession to, or being convicted of any of the crimes
mentioned set forth in section eighteen of this article, he shall
be returned to the penitentiary of this state custody of the
division of corrections to serve the remainder of his maximum
sentence, during which remaining part of his sentence he shall be
ineligible for further parole.
(d) Whenever the parole of a paroled prisoner has been
revoked, the warden commissioner shall upon receipt of the board's
written order of revocation, convey and transport the paroled
prisoner to the penitentiary a state penal institution from which
he was granted a release on parole. A paroled prisoner whose
parole has been revoked shall remain in custody of the sheriff
until delivery to guard a corrections officer sent and duly
authorized by the warden commissioner for the removal of the
paroled prisoner to the penitentiary a state penal institution; the
cost of confining such paroled prisoner shall be paid out of the
funds appropriated for the penitentiary from which he was paroled.
(e) When a paroled prisoner is convicted of, or confesses to,
any one of the crimes enumerated in section eighteen of this
article, it shall be the duty of the board to cause him to be returned to this state for a summary hearing as provided by this
article. A warrant filed by the board commissioner shall stop the
running of his sentence until the paroled prisoner is within the
jurisdiction of West Virginia returned to custody. Whenever a
paroled prisoner has absconded supervision, the board commissioner
shall issue its a warrant for his apprehension and return to this
state for the summary hearing provided by for in this article:
Provided, That the board may, if it be of opinion the best
interests of justice do not require such hearing, cause the paroled
absconder to be released to continue on parole.
(f) Whenever a parolee, who has absconded supervision or has
been transferred out of this state for supervision pursuant to
section one, article six, chapter twenty-eight of this code is
returned to West Virginia due to a violation of parole and costs
are incurred by the division of corrections, the commissioner may
assess reasonable costs from the parolee's inmate funds as
reimbursement to the division of corrections for the costs of
returning him to the state of West Virginia.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify that the
commissioner of corrections is responsible for parole supervision
violations and to authorize commissioner to assess costs against
absconders.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.)