ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 521
(By Senators Laird, Foster and Green)
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[Passed April 10, 2009; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact §61-5-8 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to adding telecommunications
devices to items which cannot be brought into a jail or
correctional facility.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §61-5-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC JUSTICE.
§61-5-8. Aiding escape and other offenses relating to adults and
juveniles in custody or confinement; penalties.
(a) Where any adult or juvenile is lawfully detained in
custody or confinement in any jail, state correctional facility,
juvenile facility or juvenile detention center, if any other person
delivers anything into the place of custody or confinement of the
adult or juvenile with the intent to aid or facilitate the adult's
or juvenile's escape or attempted escape therefrom, or if the other
person forcibly rescues or attempts to rescue an adult or a
juvenile therefrom, the other person is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in a state correctional
facility not less than one nor more than ten years.
(b) Where any adult or juvenile is lawfully detained in
custody or confinement in any jail, a state correctional facility
or a juvenile facility or juvenile detention center, if any other
person delivers any money or other thing of value, any written or
printed matter, any article of merchandise, food or clothing, any
medicine, utensil or instrument of any kind to the adult or
juvenile without the express authority and permission of the
supervising officer and with knowledge that the adult or juvenile
is lawfully detained, the other person is guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $50 nor
more than $500 and confined in jail not less than three nor more
than twelve months:
Provided, That the provisions of this section
do not prohibit an attorney or his or her employees from supplying
any written or printed material to an adult or juvenile which
pertains to that attorney's representation of the adult or
juvenile.
(c)(1) If any person transports any alcoholic liquor,
nonintoxicating beer, poison, implement of escape, dangerous
material, weapon, or any controlled substance as defined by chapter
sixty-a of this code onto the grounds of any jail, state
correctional facility, juvenile facility or juvenile detention
center within this state and is unauthorized by law to do so, or is
unauthorized by the persons supervising the facility, the person is
guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not
less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000 or confined in a state correctional facility not less than two years nor more than ten
years, or both, or, in the discretion of the court, be confined in
jail not more than one year and fined not more than $500.
(
2) If any person willfully and knowingly transports or causes
to be transported any telecommunications device into or upon any
portion of any jail, state correctional facility, juvenile facility
or juvenile detention center within this state that is not
generally open and accessible to members of the public without
prior approval from the warden/administrator or designee and such
person is unauthorized by law to do so, or is unauthorized by the
persons supervising the facility, the person is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less
than $100 nor more than $500 or confined in jail not more than one
year or both fined and confined.
(d) If any person delivers any alcoholic liquor,
nonintoxicating beer, poison, implement of escape, dangerous
material, weapon or any controlled substance as defined by chapter
sixty-a of this code to an adult or juvenile in custody or
confinement in any jail, state correctional facility, juvenile
facility or juvenile detention center within this state and is
unauthorized by law to do so, or is unauthorized by the persons
supervising the facility, the person is guilty of a felony and,
upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $1,000 nor
more than $5,000 or confined in a state correctional facility not
less than one year nor more than five years, or both.
(e) Whoever purchases, accepts as a gift or secures by barter, trade or in any other manner any article or articles manufactured
at or belonging to any jail, state correctional facility, juvenile
facility or juvenile detention center from any adult or juvenile
detained therein is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not less than $50 nor more than $500 and
confined in jail not less than three nor more than twelve months:
Provided, That the provisions of this subsection do not apply to
articles specially manufactured in any facility under the
authorization of the persons supervising the facility and which are
offered for sale within or outside of the facility.
(f) Whoever persuades, induces or entices or attempts to
persuade, induce or entice any person who is in custody or confined
in any jail, state correctional facility, juvenile facility or
juvenile detention center to escape therefrom or to engage or aid
in any insubordination to the persons supervising the facility is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not less than $50 nor more than $500 and confined in jail not
less than three nor more than twelve months.
(g) (1) An inmate of a jail, state correctional facility,
juvenile facility or juvenile detention center having in his or her
possession any poison, implement of escape, dangerous material,
weapon, telecommunications device or any controlled substance as
defined by chapter sixty-a of this code is guilty of a felony and,
upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $1,000 nor
more than $5,000 or confined in a state correctional facility not
less than one year nor more than five years, or both, or, in the discretion of the court, be confined in jail not more than one year
and fined not more than $500.
(2) An inmate of a jail, state correctional facility, juvenile
facility or juvenile detention center having in his or her
possession any alcoholic liquor, nonintoxicating beer, money or
other thing of value, any written or printed matter, any article of
merchandise, food or clothing, any medicine, utensil or instrument
of any kind without the express authority and permission of the
supervising officer is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not less than $50 nor more than $500 and
confined in jail not more than twelve months.
(h) As used in this section:
(1) "Dangerous material" means any incendiary material or
device, highly flammable or caustic liquid, explosive, bullet or
other material readily capable of causing death or serious bodily
injury.
(2) "Delivers" means to transfer an item to an adult or
juvenile who is detained in custody or confinement in any jail,
correctional facility, juvenile facility or juvenile detention
center or a building appurtenant to those places. The term
includes bringing the item into a jail, correctional facility,
juvenile facility or juvenile detention center or a building
appurtenant to those places. The term includes putting an item in
a place where it may be obtained by an inmate.
(3) "Inmate" means an adult or juvenile who is detained in custody or confinement in any jail, correctional facility, juvenile
facility or juvenile detention center, regardless of whether the
individual is temporarily absent due to medical treatment,
transportation, court appearance or other reason for a temporary
absence.
(4) "Implement of escape" means a tool, implement, device,
equipment or other item which an inmate is not authorized to
possess capable of facilitating, aiding or concealing an escape or
attempted escape by an inmate.
(5) "Telecommunication device" means any type of instrument,
device, machine or equipment which is capable of transmitting
telephonic, electronic, digital, cellular or radio communications
or any part of an instrument, device, machine or equipment which is
capable of facilitating the transmission of telephonic, electronic,
digital, cellular or radio communications regardless of whether the
part itself is able to transmit. The term includes, but is not
limited to, cellular phones, digital phones and modem equipment
devices.
(6) "Weapon" means an implement readily capable of lethal use
and includes any firearm, knife, dagger, razor, other cutting or
stabbing implement or club. The term includes any item which has
been modified or adapted so that it can be used as a firearm,
knife, dagger, razor, other cutting or stabbing implement or club.
For purposes of this definition, the term "firearm" includes an
unloaded firearm or the unassembled components of a firearm.