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2004 SESSION

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HB 1053 Criminal penalties; revision throughout Code.

Introduced by: David B. Albo | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles | history

SUMMARY AS PASSED HOUSE:

Criminal penalty revisions. Adds a new felony class of five to 40 years to the existing six classes in order to classify as many unclassified felonies as possible. A Class 1 felony (life imprisonment or death sentence) is renamed a capital felony and a Class 2 felony (20 years to life) is renumbered a Class 1 felony. The new felony of five to 40 years becomes a Class 2 felony. The crimes of abduction and assault are broken into degrees. The penalties for malicious wounding of a police officer and malicious wounding with a caustic substance are raised to Class 2 felonies (five to 40 years) from the current penalty of five to 30 years. The "marital exemptions" for forcible sodomy and object sexual penetration are eliminated, as was done with rape during the 2002 General Assembly Session. The penalty for conspiring or attempting to abduct a person is raised to the same level as conspiracies and attempts for other crimes. Many of the revisions made are ancillary Code changes necessitated by the substantive changes. This bill is recommended by the Title 18.2 Study Subcommittee of the Virginia State Crime Commission and is a response to HJR 687 (2001), which requested the Crime Commission to study the organizations and inconsistencies in Title 18.2, the level and extent of penalty and to review the proportionality of criminal penalties. The bill has an effective date of July 1, 2005.

SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

Criminal penalty revisions. Adds a new felony class of five to 40 years to the existing six classes in order to classify as many unclassified felonies as possible. A Class 1 felony (life imprisonment or death sentence) is renamed a capital felony and a Class 2 felony (20 years to life) is renumbered a Class 1 felony. The new felony of five to 40 years becomes a Class 2 felony. The crimes of abduction, arson, assault, burglary, carjacking, drug distribution, larceny, property destruction and robbery are broken into degrees. Definitions of "armed with a deadly weapon" and "serious bodily injury" have been developed. Armed with a deadly weapon is added as an aggravator for burglary, carjacking and robbery. Serious bodily injury becomes an aggravator for arson, burglary, carjacking and robbery. Arson crimes are rewritten and the penalty floor for arson of an occupied church or dwelling is raised from five years (currently five to life) to a Class 1 felony (20 to life) if there is serious bodily injury. The penalties for malicious wounding of a police officer and malicious wounding with a caustic substance are raised to Class 2 felonies (five to 40 years) from the current penalty of five to 30 years. The "marital exemptions" for forcible sodomy and object sexual penetration are eliminated, as was done with rape during the 2002 General Assembly Session. A second Schedule I or II drug offense is changed from five to life to a Class 2 felony (five to 40) and a third such offense is increased from five to life to a Class 1 felony (20 to life) and the current three-year mandatory minimum sentence is retained. The currently unclassified penalties for distribution of more than five pounds of marijuana and for distribution to a juvenile were classified. Three degrees of larceny and property damage were established based on dollar amounts. The thresholds for felony larceny and felony property damage were made the same at $500 (currently felony property damage is $1000 and grand larceny is $200). Theft of a motor vehicle and theft of a firearm have a different and penalty scheme than other larcenies. The penalty for conspiring or attempting to abduct a person is raised to the same level as conspiracies and attempts for other crimes. Many of the revisions made are ancillary Code changes necessitated by the substantive changes. This bill is recommended by the Title 18.2 Study Subcommittee of the Virginia State Crime Commission and is a response to HJR 687 (2001), which requested the Crime Commission to study the organizations and inconsistencies in Title 18.2, the level and extent of penalty and to review the proportionality of criminal penalties. The bill has an effective date of July 1, 2005.