HB 2113 revises West Virginia’s law on accessories to crimes, which is the offense of helping a person avoid arrest, prosecution, or punishment after a crime has been committed. The bill keeps the general rule that an accessory after the fact to a felony is punishable as a misdemeanor, but it adds a new felony accessory provision for certain serious underlying felonies involving murder, kidnapping, and related offenses under specified sections of the code. For those offenses, a person who knowingly harbors, conceals, maintains, or assists the offender with the intent to help them evade law enforcement may be charged as an accessory after the fact and face up to five years in prison, or up to half the maximum penalty for the underlying felony, whichever is less.
The bill also changes the family-relations exception in current law. Under existing law, certain close relatives and a spouse are not treated as accessories after the fact when helping an offender avoid punishment. HB 2113 would add domestic partners to that protected group and would remove the existing exclusion for servants, meaning a servant could be treated like other persons under the accessory statute. In addition, the bill creates a specific misdemeanor classification for accessories to a felony who are the offender’s brother, sister, parent, grandparent, child, or grandchild, and it confirms that accessories to misdemeanors are themselves guilty of misdemeanors, with penalties of up to 30 days in jail, a fine of up to $500, or both.
The bill’s impact on state law is to narrow and clarify who can be prosecuted as an accessory after the fact, while also creating a more serious felony-level accessory offense for aiding offenders in certain violent felonies. It would amend §61-11-6 of the West Virginia Code and alter the treatment of family members, domestic partners, and servants under accessory liability rules. The measure also changes the penalty structure by distinguishing between felony and misdemeanor underlying offenses and by setting specific punishment ranges for each category.
Because there are no recorded committee transcripts or votes in the provided materials, the overall sentiment cannot be measured from formal debate or roll-call history. Based on the bill text alone, the proposal appears aimed at modernizing and refining accessory-liability rules, especially by recognizing domestic partners and by imposing stronger penalties for helping offenders in the most serious crimes. The main point of potential contention is the shift in who is exempt from accessory liability: adding domestic partners may be viewed as an update, while removing the servant exemption and creating felony exposure for assistance in certain cases could raise concerns about expanding criminal liability.
HB 2113 would amend West Virginia Code §61-11-6 governing accessories before and after the fact. It would preserve misdemeanor treatment for most accessories after the fact, but create a felony accessory offense for knowingly assisting offenders in specified serious felonies, with imprisonment up to five years or half the underlying felony’s maximum sentence. The bill also changes the family and household exemptions by adding domestic partners to the protected class, removing the servant exemption, and making certain close relatives who are accessories to a felony guilty of a misdemeanor. It further confirms that accessories to misdemeanors are misdemeanors and sets their penalties.
No committee discussion or vote history was provided, so there is no recorded legislative sentiment to summarize from debate or roll call. From the bill text, the measure appears to be a targeted criminal-law revision rather than a broad policy shift, with an apparent intent to update relationship-based exceptions and strengthen penalties for aiding serious felons. The likely general tone is technical and punitive, with support implied for clarifying accessory liability and concern possible over the expansion of criminal exposure.
The most notable points of contention are likely the scope of accessory liability and the relationship-based exemptions. Supporters may favor adding domestic partners and imposing felony penalties for aiding offenders in serious crimes, while opponents may object to removing the servant exemption and to the broader reach of criminal liability for family members or household associates. Another possible issue is whether the bill’s special felony accessory provision is too broad or too harsh compared with the underlying offenses.