2006 Code of Virginia § 53.1-20 - Commitment of convicted persons to custody of Director

53.1-20. Commitment of convicted persons to custody of Director.

A. Every person convicted of a felony committed before January 1, 1995, andsentenced to the Department for a total period of more than two years shallbe committed by the court to the custody of the Director of the Department.The Director shall receive all such persons into the state corrections systemwithin sixty days of the date on which the final sentencing order is mailedby certified letter or sent by electronic transmission to the Director by theclerk.

B. Persons convicted of felonies committed on or after January 1, 1995, andsentenced to the Department or sentenced to confinement in jail for a year ormore shall be placed in the custody of the Department and received by theDirector into the state corrections system within sixty days of the date onwhich the final sentencing order is mailed by certified letter or sent byelectronic transmission to the Director by the clerk.

C. If the Governor finds that the number of prisoners in state facilitiesposes a threat to public safety, it shall be within the discretion of theDirector to determine the priority for receiving prisoners into the statecorrections system from local correctional facilities.

D. All felons sentenced to a period of incarceration and not placed in anadult state correctional facility pursuant to this section shall serve theirsentences in local correctional facilities which shall not include a securefacility or detention home as defined in 16.1-228.

E. Felons committed to the custody of the Department for a new felony offenseshall be received by the Director into the state corrections system inaccordance with the provisions of this section without any delay forresolution of (i) issues of alleged parole violations set for hearing beforethe Parole Board or (ii) any other pending parole-related administrativematter.

(Code 1950, 19-270, 19.1-296, 53-21.1; 1960, c. 366; 1966, c. 522; 1970,cc. 67, 648; 1972, c. 145; 1973, c. 330; 1974, cc. 44, 45, 506; 1981, c. 529;1982, c. 636; 1990, cc. 676, 768; 1993, c. 502; 1994, cc. 128, 859, 949;1994, 2nd Sp. Sess., cc. 1, 2; 1997, c. 840.)