West Virginia Felonies West Virginia classifies felonies as any criminal act that can
be punished by a year or more in a state prison. Most states have
alphabetical classifications for each felony offense, but West Virginia
has no such classification. Instead West Virginian felonies are placed
into degree categories. Each degree has a stipulated amount of time for
each punishment and which crimes fall under each. Each degree has
particular sentences that can vary depending on the severity of the
crime. Murder in the first degree is punishable by life in state
penitentiary. Offenses that fall under murder in the first degree
include sexual assault, murder by poison, the commission of killing,
attempted murder, arson, robbery, lying in wait, starving another
individual, burglary, premeditated killing, breaking and entering,
kidnapping, manufacturing a controlled substance, escaping lawful
custody, and delivering controlled substances. Any other kind of murder
or the instance where another individual is killed at the hands of
another falls under murder in the second degree. This degree of felony
is punishable by no less then ten years in a state prison and no more
than forty years in a state prison.
Arson and Robbery Felonies Arson in the first degree is punishable by up to twenty years in
prison or as little as two years in prison. The state of West Virginia
defines arson in the first degree as willfully setting a fire with the
intent to burn or cause harm, aiding in burning, counseling the
burning, inciting the burning, procuring the burning, or soliciting the
burning of a vacant or non-vacant building. Second-degree arson
includes imprisonment between one year and ten years. This kind of
degree is only less severe than first-degree arson.
Robbery in the first degree is defined by West Virginia as using a
powerful force to threaten with the use of a firearm or any other
harmful weapon or a violence committed by strangling, beating,
striking, or suffocating. First-degree robbery is punishable by no less
than ten years in a state prison. Robbery in the second degree has
imprisonment terms between five and eighteen years. This kind of degree
includes the severe injury of another by the use of a deadly weapon
while attempting to rob an occupied space.
Other Felonies Voluntary manslaughter falls under its own degree category and
needs not further description. Sentences for committing voluntary
manslaughter range from no less than three years in prison to no more
than fifteen years in prison. Assault during the act of committing a
felony or the commission to commit a felony is another self-explanatory
degree that comes with severe charges. This degree of assault is
punishable under West Virginia law as no less than two years in a state
prison facility and no more than ten years in a state prison. Using
firing as wanton endangerment is punishable by no more than five years
and no less than one year in prison.
West Virginia Expungement Some states may offer the expungement of felonies after a
certain number of years, but West Virginia law does not allow any
convicted felon to have his or her records cxpunged.