HSB 642 (LSB 5215IC (3) 83)

SENATE/HOUSE FILE _____

BY  (PROPOSED CRIMINAL CODE REORGANIZATION STUDY COMMITTEE BILL)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to escapes or attempted escapes from custody due to the commission of a criminal offense and providing a penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 719.4, Code 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   719.4  Escape or absence from custody.
   1.  A person convicted of a felony criminal offense, or charged with or arrested for the commission of a felony criminal offense, who intentionally escapes, or attempts to escape, from a detention facility, community-based correctional facility, or institution to which the person has been committed by reason of the conviction, charge, or arrest, or from the custody of any public officer, public employee, or any other person to whom the person has been entrusted, commits a class “D” felony.
   2.  A person convicted of, charged with, or arrested for a misdemeanor, who intentionally escapes, or attempts to escape, from a detention facility, community-based correctional facility, or institution to which the person has been committed by reason of the conviction, charge, or arrest, or from the custody of any public officer, public employee, or any other person to whom the person has been entrusted, commits a serious misdemeanor.
   3.2.  A person who has been committed to an institution under the control of the Iowa department of corrections, to a community-based correctional facility, or to a jail or correctional institution, who knowingly and voluntarily is absent from a place where the person is required to be, commits a serious misdemeanor.
   4.3.  A person who flees from the state to avoid prosecution for a public offense which is a felony or aggravated misdemeanor commits a class “D” felony.
   5.4.  Except for subsection 4 3, an offense committed under this section includes any offense committed wholly outside the state.
EXPLANATION
   This bill relates to escapes from custody. The bill equalizes the criminal penalty for all escapes or attempted escapes from custody.
   Under the bill, a person convicted, charged, or arrested for the commission of any criminal offense, who intentionally escapes, or attempts to escape from a detention facility, community-based correctional facility, or institution, or escapes or attempts to escape from the custody of any public officer, public employee, or any other person who has custody, commits a class “D” felony.
   Current law provides that a person commits a class “D” felony for an escape or attempted escape if the underlying criminal offense which leads to the custody of the person is a felony, and if the underlying criminal offense which leads to the custody of the person is a misdemeanor, the person commits a serious misdemeanor.
   A serious misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than one year and a fine of at least $315 but not more than $1,875. A class “D” felony is punishable by confinement for no more than five years and a fine of at least $750 but not more than $7,500.