Increasing penalties and parole eligibility requirements for homicide
SB 205 increases prison terms for second-degree murder (to 15-60 years) and voluntary manslaughter (to 5-25 years) in West Virginia. It also raises the minimum time served before parole eligibility to 15 years for second-degree murder and 5 years for voluntary manslaughter. The bill directly affects individuals convicted of these specific violent crimes, requiring longer sentences before parole consideration. These changes amend existing sentencing statutes without altering parole eligibility for other offenses.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 14, 2026
Last action Jan 14, 2026
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
3
Key actions
0
Committee
1
Jan 14, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
upper
Jan 14, 2026
Committee
To Judiciary
upper
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor
Sponsors
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