Senate Bill No. 460
(By Senators Kessler, Laird, White and Palumbo)
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[Introduced March 5, 2009; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §61-5-8 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to including telecommunications
devices and all their parts as contraband in jails, state
correctional facilities, juvenile facilities and juvenile
detention centers.
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 from a jail, state
correctional facility, juvenile facility or juvenile detention
center, he or she 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,
telecommunication device utensil or instrument of any
kind to the adult or juvenile
confined in a jail, state
correctional facility, juvenile facility, or juvenile detention
center without the express authority and permission of the
supervising officer and with knowledge that the adult or juvenile
is lawfully detained,
the other person he or she 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) If any person
who is not authorized by law or by the
facility supervisor transports any alcoholic liquor, nonintoxicating beer, poison, implement of escape, dangerous
material, weapon,
telecommunications device, 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 he or she is guilty of a felony.
and, upon
Upon conviction thereof,
he or she 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.
(d) If any person delivers any alcoholic liquor,
nonintoxicating beer, poison, implement of escape, dangerous
material, weapon or any controlled substance as defined by
subdivision (d), section one hundred one, article one, 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
subdivision (d), section one-hundred one, article one,
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,
telecommunication
device 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.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to include
telecommunications devices as contraband in jails, state correction
facilities, juvenile facilities and juvenile detention centers.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.