Senate Bill No. 679
(By Senators Plymale, Jenkins and Kessler)
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[Introduced March 23, 2009; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §61-11-6 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to making a felony offense the
crime of accessory after the fact to a felony; and creating a
penalty.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §61-11-6 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 11. GENERAL PROVISIONS CONCERNING CRIMES.
§61-11-6. Punishment of principals in the second degree and
accessories; who not deemed accessories after the
fact.
In the case of every felony, every principal in the second
degree, and every accessory before the fact, shall be punishable as
if he
or she were the principal in the first degree; and every
accessory after the fact shall be
guilty of a felony and, upon
conviction, shall be imprisoned in a correctional facility for not
less than one nor more than five years or, at the judges' discretion, the felon shall be confined in jail for not more than
one year or fined not less than $250 or more than $250,000 or both.
confined in jail not more than one year and fined not exceeding
five hundred dollars. But no person in the relation of husband and
wife, parent or grandparent, child or grandchild, brother or
sister, by consanguinity or affinity, or servant to the offender,
who, after the commission of a felony, shall aid or assist a
principal felon, or accessory before the fact, to avoid or escape
from prosecution or punishment, shall be deemed an accessory after
the fact.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to make accessories after
the fact to a felony and attaching criminal penalties.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.