West Virginia Code 15-9C-4 – Objectives of the commission
In performing its powers and duties, the commission shall pursue the following objectives:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 15-9C-4
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
(1) Promoting sentencing that more accurately reflects the time that an offender will actually be incarcerated;
(2) Reducing unwarranted disparity in sentences for offenders who have committed similar offenses and have similar criminal histories;
(3) Preserving meaningful judicial discretion in the imposition of sentences and sufficient flexibility to permit individualized sentences;
(4) Ensuring that sentencing judges in every jurisdiction in the state are able to impose the most appropriate criminal penalties, including correctional options programs for appropriate nonviolent offenders; and
(5) Determining whether the state needs to set out all criminal offenses in terms of priority and in order of severity and harm to society, and to provide alternatives to incarceration for certain offenses.