Latest news with #R-Kanawha
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
WV Senate bill reinstates death penalty in cases of intentionally killing police, first responders
Sen. Mike Stuart, R-Kanawha, talks about his bill, which would bring back the death penalty, in the Senate Judiciary on Thursday, March 6, 2025 in Charleston, (Will Price | West Virginia Legislative Photography) A bill advancing in the Senate would reinstate the death penalty in West Virginia for individuals who are sentenced for intentionally killing a law-enforcement officer or first responder in the line of duty. West Virginia's death penalty was eliminated in 1965, and bill sponsor Sen. Mike Stuart, R-Kanawha, says the narrow application of capital punishment would show the state's appreciation for law enforcement. 'Our first responders face extreme challenges in the field today,' Stuart said. 'Those folks who knowingly and intentionally place them in death and remove them from their families, their communities and their public service, [it] is the most heinous crime … We will not tolerate anyone harming these folks in the line of duty.' According to Senate Bill 264, the execution of the inmate would have to occur in a correctional facility in West Virginia and could be carried out by any legally acceptable means, including lethal injection or firing squad. Implementation of the measure would cost an estimated roughly $26 million since it could require a 75-bed execution chamber to be constructed and may result in the construction of a new building. The cost also includes necessary staff and lethal injection drugs. The state's Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which estimated the cost, said the state 'could expect significant costs to train and equip the legal community to handle death penalty cases and appeals.' Stuart pushed back on the estimated cost after committee legal counsel said that 21 incarcerated persons would have qualified for the death penalty since 1980 under the legislation. A 75-bed chamber wouldn't be necessary, Stuart argued. The Senate Judiciary passed the measure, sending it to the Senate Finance Committee for consideration due to its potential cost. Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, was among senators who voted against the measure, saying he was 'shocked' to see it on the committee's agenda. He was the only lawmaker to publicly speak out against the measure ahead of the vote. '[It] does not align with the values of the state of West Virginia and its people,' Garcia said. 'I have a fear that although it has been narrowly tailored … it's one of the worst things that could happen to those people who are serving, but I also have a fear that this is just the beginning.' Stuart, who introduced similar legislation last year, cited the 2023 death of West Virginia State Police Sgt. Cory Maynard. Timothy Kennedy pleaded not guilty after being accused of ambushing Maynard after the trooper was responding to a call of shots fired near Matewan in Mingo County. Kennedy's trial is scheduled for later this year. Elmer Brunner, convicted of killing two elderly women, was the last man in West Virginia to die by capital punishment in 1959. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Yahoo
West Virginia's foster care mess spills over into court system; House will try to address it
West Virginia House of Delegates Judiciary Committee Chairman Del. J.B. Akers said members must make it a priority to help the court systems deal with an overwhelming number of child abuse and neglect cases in the state. (Perry Bennett | West Virginia Legislative Photography) West Virginia's foster care system is in crisis, and it has spilled over into the state's court system. As the House of Delegates Judiciary Committee gaveled in for the first time this year, new chairman Del. J.B. Akers set a priority for members: helping the court systems deal with an overwhelming number of child abuse and neglect cases. There aren't enough attorneys or child protective services workers to help the cases move along, and judges believe kids are falling through the cracks. 'It is the most pressing matter in the judicial system in the state of West Virginia,' said Akers, R-Kanawha, a lawyer whose wife serves as circuit judge in his county. 'This was a huge challenge for the state of West Virginia, but I thought it was important symbolically to make this a day one issue,' he continued. 'I'm not going to promise folks that we're going to solve this, because it's probably too big of a problem … to solve them in one legislative session. But I want folks to know that it is a focus of the work we're doing.' Tackling the problem will take money, Akers said. It could be a challenge as Gov. Patrick Morrisey and the Republican-led Legislature are trying to figure out the reality of the governor's projected $400 million deficit and how it could impact spending. Last year, 5,449 children entered the abuse and neglect system — a 2.6% increase from 2023, according to Cindy Largent-Hill, director of the state Supreme Court of Appeals Division of Children's Services. Many of the cases involved adult substance abuse; allegations of child abuse involving drug endangerment are four times higher in West Virginia than the national average. There were 5,286 child abuse and neglect cases filed in circuit courts in 2023, about 13% of the total case filings that year. At the Supreme Court, there were 251 abuse and neglect appeals filed in 2023, around 43% of the total filings. Largent-Hill told lawmakers that there aren't near enough attorneys for child abuse cases, and availbale ones are assigned to a child's case as a guardian ad litem for at least one year. They deserve 'the one constant' in a child's life during that time, she noted. 'On any given day we have under 200 attorneys who have agreed to do this kind of work,' said Largent-Hill, adding that most guardian ad litems cover 12 counties.'Compensation is an issue. Currently, they make $60 an hour for out of court work and $80 for in court. That's much less than attorneys can make doing other work.' Stacey Fragile, chief public defender in Raleigh County, explained to lawmakers how difficult the work as a guardian ad litem can be. 'I was at a [West Virginia University] football game, and I got a call that one of the children I was representing had been kidnapped. Burnout is real,' she said. Del. Adam Burkhammer, R-Lewis, a foster parent, has introduced a bill that would establish a three-year 'guardian ad litem pilot program' in three judicial circuits to provide needed legal counsel. The program could employ full-time attorneys, part-time attorneys or 'whatever combination that the public guardian ad litem corporation deems most cost effective.' Akers noted that the bill would have a fiscal note, which isn't yet available, meaning that he couldn't make any promises on its passage but said his committee would at least consider the measure. 'I know that the governor's office has been extremely conservative with the budget, and I agree that we should be careful with taxpayer dollars. But I also want to make sure that there's some things that are more important than money,' Akers said. 'I think we need to this year, you don't wait until you have the money.' The state's shortage of CPS workers continues despite the Department of Human Services' work to address the problem, and the problem has contributed to cases being held up in the judicial system. The worker shortage prompted Third Circuit Court Judge Timothy Sweeney last week to order several DoHS officials to report to the Ritchie County Courthouse Feb. 20 to serve as CPS workers. Judge Anita Harold Ashley, who serves the Fifth Judicial Circuit, also questioned how CPS was screening child abuse and neglect referalls as she has seen a notbale drop of in the number of cases in her district. DoHS last year changed how it screens referrals and manages cases involving child abuse and neglect following questions of how DoHS handled the high-profile case of the apparent starvation death of 14-year-old Kyneddi Miller. Ashley said that so far this year, CPS had filed only four cases in Roane County, and the number had continued to drop from 136 cases filed in 2016. 'There's something wrong,' she said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
