H. B. 3203
(By Delegates Williams, Barker, Andes, Rowan and Argento)
[Introduced March 18, 2009; referred to the
Committee on Senior Citizen Issues then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §61-2-10a of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to violent crimes against the
elderly.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §61-2-10a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON.
§61-2-10a. Violent crimes against the elderly; sentence not
subject to suspension or probation.
(a) If any person,
under sixty-five years of age, be convicted
and sentenced for an offense defined under the provisions of
section nine or ten of this article, and if the person shall have
committed such offense against a person who is sixty-five years of
age or older, then the sentence shall be mandatory and shall not be
subject to suspension or probation:
Provided, That the court may,
in its discretion, suspend the sentence and order probation to any
person so convicted upon condition that such person perform public service for a period of time deemed appropriate by the court, which
service shall be rendered in or about facilities or programs
providing care or services for the elderly:
Provided, however,
That the court may apply the provisions of article eleven-a,
chapter sixty-two of this code to a person committed to a term of
one year or less.
(b) The existence of any fact which would make any person
ineligible for probation under subsection (a) of this section
because of the commission or attempted commission of a felony
against a victim sixty-five years of age or older shall not be
applicable unless such fact is: (i) Found by the court upon a plea
of guilty or nolo contendere; or (ii) found by the jury, if the
matter is tried before a jury; or (iii) found by the court, if the
matter is tried by the court, without a jury.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to insert a maximum age in
which an assailant can receive a mandatory minimum for a crime
against an elderly victim.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.