H. B. 4645
(By Delegates Overington and Carmichael)
[Introduced February 22, 2002; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section nine, article two; sections
three, four, five, six and thirty, article three; and section
twenty-one, article six, all of chapter sixty-one of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, all relating to increasing periods of confinement and
amounts of fines upon conviction for the commission of certain
crimes of violence.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section nine, article two; sections three, four, five
six and thirty, article three; and section twenty-one, article six,
all of chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON.
§61-2-9. Malicious or unlawful assault; assault; battery;
penalties.
(a) If any person maliciously shoot, stab, cut or wound any
person, or by any means cause him bodily injury with intent to
maim, disfigure, disable or kill, he shall, except where it is
otherwise provided, be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction,
shall be punished by confinement in
the penitentiary a state
correctional facility not less than two nor more than ten years.
If such act be done unlawfully, but not maliciously, with the
intent aforesaid, the offender shall be guilty of a felony and,
upon conviction, shall, in the discretion of the court, either be
confined in
the penitentiary a state correctional facility not less
than one nor more than
five ten years, or be confined in
a county
or regional jail not exceeding twelve months and fined not
exceeding five
hundred thousand dollars.
(b)
Assault. -- If any person unlawfully attempts to commit a
violent injury to the person of another or unlawfully commits an
act which places another in reasonable apprehension of immediately
receiving a violent injury, he
or she shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be confined in
a county or
regional jail for not more than
six twelve months, or fined not more than
one hundred five thousand dollars, or both such fine and
imprisonment.
(c)
Battery. -- If any person unlawfully and intentionally
makes physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature with the
person of another or unlawfully and intentionally causes physical
harm to another person, he
or she shall be guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction, shall be confined in
a county or regional
jail for not more than twelve months, or fined not more than five
hundred thousand dollars, or both such fine and imprisonment.
ARTICLE 3. CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY.
§61-3-3. Burning personal property of another of the value of five
hundred dollars or more; third degree arson; penalty.
Any person who willfully and maliciously sets fire to or
burns, or who causes to be burned, or who aids, counsels, procures,
persuades, incites, entices or solicits any person to burn, any
personal property of any class or character, of the value of not
less than five hundred dollars, and the property of another person,
shall be guilty of arson in the third degree and, upon conviction
thereof, be sentenced to
the penitentiary a state correctional
facility for a definite term of imprisonment which is not less than
one nor more than
three ten years. A person imprisoned pursuant to
this section is not eligible for parole prior to having served a minimum of one year of his or her sentence.
§61-3-4. Attempt to commit arson; fourth degree arson; penalty.
(a) Any person who willfully and maliciously attempts to set
fire to or burn, or attempts to cause to be burned, or attempts to
aid, counsel, procure, persuade, incite, entice or solicit any
person to burn, any of the buildings, structures or personal
property mentioned in the foregoing sections, or who commits any
act preliminary thereto, or in furtherance thereof, shall be guilty
of arson in the fourth degree and, upon conviction thereof, be
sentenced to
the penitentiary a state correctional facility for a
definite term of imprisonment which is not less than one nor more
than
two ten years, or fined not to exceed
two five thousand
five
hundred dollars, or both. A person imprisoned pursuant to this
section is not eligible for parole prior to having served a minimum
of one year of his or her sentence.
(b) The placing or distributing of any inflammable, explosive
or combustible material or substance, or any device in any
building, structure or personal property mentioned in the foregoing
sections, in an arrangement or preparation with intent to
eventually, willfully and maliciously, set fire to or burn, or to
cause to be burned, or to aid, counsel, procure, persuade, incite, entice or solicit the setting fire to or burning of any building,
structure or personal property mentioned in the foregoing sections
shall, for the purposes of this section, constitute an attempt to
burn that building, structure or personal property.
§61-3-5. Burning, or attempting to burn, insured property;
penalty.
Any person who willfully and with intent to injure or defraud
an insurer sets fire to or burns, or attempts so to do, or causes
to be burned, or who aids, counsels, procures, persuades, incites,
entices or solicits any person to burn, any building, structure or
personal property, of any class or character, whether the property
of himself or herself or of another, which shall at the time be
insured or which is believed by the person committing an act
prohibited by this section to be insured by any person against loss
or damage by fire, shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction
thereof, be sentenced to
the penitentiary a state correctional
facility for a definite term of imprisonment which is not less than
one nor more than
five ten years or fined not to exceed ten
thousand dollars, or both. A person imprisoned pursuant to this
section is not eligible for parole prior to having served a minimum
of one year of his or her sentence or the minimum period required
by the provisions of section thirteen, article twelve, chapter sixty-two of this code, whichever is greater.
§61-3-6. Willfully, unlawfully and maliciously setting fire on
lands; penalty.
If any person willfully, unlawfully and maliciously sets fire
to any woods, fence, grass, straw or other thing capable of
spreading fire on lands, he or she shall be guilty of a felony and,
upon conviction, shall be sentenced to
the penitentiary a state
correctional facility for a definite term of imprisonment which is
not less than one year nor more than
five ten years or fined not to
exceed five thousand dollars, or both. He or she shall, moreover,
be liable to any person injured thereby, or in consequence thereof,
for double the amount of damages sustained by such person. A
person imprisoned pursuant to this section is not eligible for
parole prior to having served a minimum of one year of his or her
sentence or the minimum period required by the provisions of
section thirteen, article twelve, chapter sixty-two of this code,
whichever is greater.
§61-3-30. Removal, injury to or destruction of property, monuments
designating land boundaries and of certain no
trespassing signs; penalties.
If any person unlawfully, but not feloniously, take and carry
away, or destroy, injure or deface any property, real or personal, not his own, he or she shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than five hundred
thousand dollars, or imprisoned in the a county or regional jail
not more than one year, or both fined and imprisoned.
If any person shall break down, destroy, injure, deface or
remove any monument erected for the purpose of designating the
boundaries of a municipality, tract or lot of land, or any tree
marked for that purpose, or any sign or notice upon private
property designating no trespassing upon such property, except
signs or notices posted in accordance with the provisions and
purposes of sections seven, eight and ten, article two, chapter
twenty of this code, he or she shall be guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than twenty
dollars nor more than two hundred dollars, or imprisoned in the a
county or regional jail not less than one nor more than six months,
or both fined and imprisoned. Justices of the peace and
magistrates Magistrates shall have concurrent jurisdiction of all
offenses arising under the provisions of this section. The
provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to the owner, or his
or her agent, of the lands on which such signs or notices are
posted.
ARTICLE 6. CRIMES AGAINST THE PEACE.
§61-6-21. Prohibiting violations of an individual's civil rights;
penalties.
(a) All persons within the boundaries of the state of West
Virginia have the right to be free from any violence or
intimidation by threat of violence, committed against their persons
or property because of their race, color, religion, ancestry,
national origin, political affiliation or sex. Therefore, the
punishments called for in this chapter should be vigorously
enforced to ensure the protection of all persons from violence
against their person or property.
(b) If any person does by force or threat of force, willfully
injure, intimidate or interfere with, or attempt to injure,
intimidate or interfere with, or oppress or threaten any other
person in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege
secured to him or her by the Constitution or laws of the state of
West Virginia or by the Constitution or laws of the United States,
because of such other person's race, color, religion, ancestry,
national origin, political affiliation or sex, he or she shall be
guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more
than five thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than ten years,
or both.
(c) If any person conspires with another person or persons to
willfully injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate or interfere
with any citizen because of such other person's race, color,
religion, ancestry, national origin, political affiliation or sex
in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured
to him or her by the Constitution or laws of the state of West
Virginia or by the Constitution or laws of the United States, and
in willfull furtherance thereof to assemble with one or more
persons for the purpose of teaching any technique or means capable
of causing property damage, bodily injury or death when such person
or persons intend to employ such techniques or means to violate
this section, each such person shall be guilty of a felony, and,
upon conviction, shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars
or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
(d) The fact that a person committed a felony or misdemeanor,
or attempted to commit a felony, because of the victim's race,
color, religion, ancestry, national origin, political affiliation
or sex, shall be considered a circumstance in aggravation of any
crime in imposing sentence.
(e) Nothing contained in this section makes unlawful the
teaching of any technique in self-defense.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed so as to make
it unlawful nor to prohibit nor, in any manner, to impede or to
interfere with any person in conducting labor union or labor union
organizing activities.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the punishments
for the treated crimes which, with vigorous enforcement, should
better ensure the protection of all persons from violence against
their person and property.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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