CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A bill moving through the state Senate would bring the death penalty back to West Virginia, allowing for capital punishment in first-degree murder cases that also involve the sexual assault of a child.
Senate Bill 1037 would allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty in cases where an adult perpetrator is convicted of first-degree murder and first-degree sexual abuse of a child under 12. The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday evening and is sponsored by Sen. T. Kevan Bartlett, R-Kanawha.
“There are some perpetrators who, in my view, void their right to exist in our society. Thankfully, these are rare cases, and when the state contemplates capital punishment, it ought to be the most extreme and rare cases,” Bartlett said when arguing on the bill’s behalf.
Jackson County Sheriff Ross Mellinger testified in favor of the bill, detailing a case that his office investigated involving the sexual assault and murder of an infant girl. He explained that these kinds of extreme cases leave lasting effects on everyone involved.
“There’s parts of me that will never recover from seeing what I saw and hearing what I heard—the road deputies that dealt with it that evening as well, the family. It’s the absolute pinnacle of the trauma of being a police officer,” he said.
That case became the inspiration for “Emmaleigh’s Law,” a piece of legislation passed in 2017 that increased prison sentences for child abuse causing death. That law is named for Emmaleigh Barringer, the victim in that case.
Mellinger argues that there are simply some offenders who cannot be rehabilitated.
“I don’t want to minimize other victims of sexual assault, and please don’t mistake that for this, but this is different. These types of people do not rehabilitate,” he said.
Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, was the only committee member to disagree with the bill’s passage during its discussion. He said he considers capital punishment’s elimination in West Virginia to be a point of pride.
“One of the things I’m proud of that still exists in West Virginia after the last several years, that hasn’t been taken away, is that we don’t have the death penalty. I think that’s a pretty bright line for me,” he said.
Garcia also expressed concern that the state could be responsible for executing an innocent person if they were wrongly convicted of the crime outlined in the bill. Sen. Scott Fuller, R-Wayne, believes it’s the legislature’s job to make sure the law is applied properly.
“Yes, there are other situations that the senator from Marion brought up. Could it be stretched? Yeah, I guess, but we as a legislature have to oversee that and make sure that it is only for the worst of the worst,” he said.
After passing the Judiciary Committee, the bill was referred to the Senate Finance Committee for further consideration.