H. B. 2893
(By Delegates Stemple,
Fletcher, Williams and Shelton)
[Introduced February 24, 1999; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
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 granting
the authority to police officers to arrest parolees when
they witness a parole violation by the parolee.
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 or her release on parole, the parole
officer may arrest him or her with or without an order or warrant, or the commissioner of corrections may issue its written
order or warrant for his or her arrest, which written order or
warrant shall be sufficient for his or her arrest by any officer
charged with the duty of executing an ordinary criminal process:
Provided, That nothing contained in this article may prohibit a
police officer who witnesses a parole violation to forthwith
arrest the parolee committing the violation in the officer's
presence and take him or her into custody on behalf of the
division of corrections. The 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 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 the paroled
prisoner shall be paid out of the funds appropriated for the
division of corrections.
(b) When a parolee is under arrest for violation of the
conditions of his or her parole, he or she shall be given a
prompt and summary hearing, at which the parolee and his or her
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 or her release on
parole, or any rules and regulations for his or her supervision, the board may revoke his or her parole and may require him or her
to serve in prison the remainder or any portion of his or her
maximum sentence for which, at the time of his or her release, he
or she was subject to imprisonment: Provided, That if the
violation of the conditions of parole or rules and regulations
for his or her 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 or her from custody and continue him or her
on parole.
(c) When a parolee has violated the conditions of his or her
release on parole by confession to, or being convicted of any of
the crimes set forth in section eighteen of this article, he or
she shall be returned to the custody of the division of
corrections to serve the remainder of his or her maximum
sentence, during which remaining part of his or her sentence he
or she shall be ineligible for further parole.
(d) Whenever the parole of a paroled prisoner has been
revoked, the commissioner shall upon receipt of the board's
written order of revocation, convey and transport the paroled
prisoner to a state penal institution from which he or she was
granted a release on parole. A paroled prisoner whose parole has
been revoked shall remain in custody of the sheriff until
delivery to a corrections officer sent and duly authorized by the commissioner for the removal of the paroled prisoner to 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 or she 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 or her to
be returned to this state for a summary hearing as provided by
this article. A warrant filed by the commissioner shall stop the
running of his or her sentence until the paroled prisoner is
returned to custody. Whenever a paroled prisoner has absconded
supervision, the commissioner shall issue a warrant for his or
her apprehension and return to this state for the hearing
provided 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 or her to the state of West Virginia.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to grant the authority to
police officers to arrest parolees when they witness a parole
violation by the parolee.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.