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179 W. Va. 391

369 S.E.2d 464

State v. Duncan

West Virginia Supreme Court

Decided April 22, 1988

West Virginia Supreme Court · decided 1988-04-22

Cited by 8 later decisions — most recently September 2010

8 state decisions

Relies on 154 W. Va. 397 - State Ex Rel. Carson v. Wood · 172 W. Va. 322 - State v. Hodges · 168 W. Va. 361 - State v. Barnett

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1988-04-22

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NEELY, Justice,

¶1dissenting:

¶2I dissent because it does not appear to me that burying a body and covering it with dirt exclusively to conceal it is the *397type of “temporary or permanent burial place” contemplated by W. Va. Code, 61-8-14 [1984]. If the appellant in this case is guilty of anything, she is guilty of being a principal or accessory to homicide. We are stretching the plain intent of this statute to catch the appellant in its net. “Penal statutes must be strictly construed against the State and in favor of the defendant.” State ex rel. Carson v. Wood, 154 W.Va. 397, 175 S.E.2d 482 (1970).1

¶3. See also, State v. Hager, 176 W.Va. 313, 342 S.E.2d 281 (1986); State v. Hodges, 172 W.Va. 322, 305 S.E.2d 278 (1983); State v. Vandall, 170 W.Va. 374, 294 S.E.2d 177 (1982); State v. Barnett, 168 W.Va. 361, 284 S.E.2d 622 (1981); State v. Cole, 160 W.Va. 804, 238 S.E.2d 849 (1977); State ex rel. Davis v. Oakley, 156 W.Va. 154, 191 S.E.2d 610 (1972).

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