H. B. 2419
(By Delegates Hunt, Faircloth, Martin, Amores
and Kelley)
[Introduced January 27, 1999; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend article eleven, chapter sixty-one of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
eighteen-a, relating to enhancement of penalties for crimes
against the elderly.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article eleven, chapter sixty-one of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
eighteen-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 11. GENERAL PROVISIONS CONCERNING CRIMES.
§61-11-18a. Crimes against the elderly; enhanced penalty.
If any person convicted for an offense defined under this
chapter is found to have committed the offense against a person who is sixty-five years of age or older, the court shall add five
years to the term of imprisonment imposed by the court for the
offense. Should the court impose an indeterminate sentence, five
years shall be added to the maximum term of imprisonment
otherwise provided for under the law. Notwithstanding any other
provision of this code, the additional term of sentence imposed
by the court pursuant to this section shall be mandatory and
shall not be subject to suspension or probation.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for enhanced
penalties for crimes against the elderly and to provide for
mandatory jail time in such cases.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.