H. B. 2243
(By Delegates Stemple, Fletcher,
Williams and Shelton)
[Introduced
February 15, 2001
; 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 state
correctional facility 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.