Bill increasing jail time and parole requirements approved by WV Senate

CHARLESTON –Amid a flurry of proposed bills from the West Virginia Legislature that have garnered statewide press coverage–including vaccine exemptions, further limits to abortion access and dismantling opioid treatment programs–Senate Bill 136 has largely flown under the radar. Despite its lack of coverage, the bill has cleared several hurdles, and it passed the Senate Tuesday. 

SB 136, sponsored by Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, and Sen. Brian Helton, R-Fayette, would increase the minimum jail time an incarcerated person needs to serve before they are considered for parole. After undergoing changes in committee, the bill also includes increases in minimum and maximum sentences for certain crimes. Every Senator voted in favor of SB 136 except for Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion. 

If SB 136 becomes law, the minimum sentence for second degree murder would increase from 10 years to 15 years. The maximum sentence would increase from 40 years to 60 years. Voluntary manslaughter convictions would also see minimum sentences increase from three years to five years, and maximum sentences increase from 15 years to 25 years. 

As well as increasing minimum and maximum sentences, the proposed legislation would increase the minimum time an incarcerated person would need to serve before their cases are heard by the state Parole Board. For second degree murder, the minimum time served would increase from 10 years to 15 years. For voluntary manslaughter, the minimum time served  would increase from three years to five years. 

“It may not be the popular opinion, but whenever we’re looking at criminal penalties, and especially increasing criminal penalties in the state…I have a lot of worry,” said Sen. Garcia. “We have a system that has been busting at the seams for a long time.”

SB 136 comes as state correctional facilities have experienced overcrowding and understaffing for several years. Former governor Jim Justice imposed a two-year long state of emergency due to staffing shortages at West Virginia jails and prisons.

 While the situation has improved, correctional and parole officer vacancy rates were at 18 percent and 8 percent, respectively, as of August 2024. At Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, a class action lawsuit alleging inhumane conditions and improper treatment of incarcerated people settled for $4,000,000 just last year. And, amid Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s efforts to detain what he calls “illegal migrant criminals,” the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy (WVCBP) suggested the state’s overcrowding issues persist with six out of 10 jails over their “revised capacity,” reports WOWK-13 news. 

Responding to Sen. Garcia, Sen. Mike Stuart, R-Kanawha, said SB 136 is focused on “victim-centered justice” and that the state’s prisons are “busting at the seams” because the state values “safe streets.” 

“The idea that our prisons are busting at the seams because we want bad guys to be off the streets; that somehow inside these institutions, it’s dangerous for the criminals? I believe that the way we’ve tried to frame policy in West Virginia is to make sure it’s safe on the streets of Hamlin, safe on the streets of Logan, safe in McDowell County,” Sen. Stuart said. 

Parole is designed to release incarcerated people who have met state standards, including completion of rehabilitation treatment programs, with the goal of reducing the person’s risk to society. If granted parole, an incarcerated person is still monitored by the West Virginia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. This monitoring includes conditions of release, including staying within a predetermined area, obtaining permission to move residence or change employment, not violating any state or local law, not possessing firearms or other weapons and regularly reporting to a parole officer. 

Increasing penalties for crimes can drive higher prison populations. In March 2024, Sara Whitaker, a criminal justice analyst for WVCBP, told Mountain State Spotlight as much amid several bills seeking to harden the state’s minimum sentencing laws. 

“These are policy choices by lawmakers to criminalize more and more conduct to increase the penalties when it comes to existing criminal offenses,” Whitaker told Mountain State Spotlight. “And if we want to see different results from this system, we need to make less use of it.” 

Parole is one tool for overcrowded prisons and jails to reduce their incarcerated populations. 

During discussion on the bill, Sen. Stuart said SB 136 would bring West Virginia law in line with its neighboring states. But the bill’s proposed maximum sentence for voluntary manslaughter–25 years–would be harsher than each of the state’s five neighbors.

 As for the bill’s proposal to raise the maximum sentence to 60 years for second degree murder charges, the penalty would be significantly higher than West Virginia’s surrounding states, except Pennsylvania, which prescribes life in prison without the possibility for parole on the same charge. 

The West Virginia Senate approved SB 136 on Tuesday, Feb. 25, forwarding it to the West Virginia House of Delegates for that body’s consideration.