Senate bill would reinstate death penalty in West Virginia

by Lori Kersey, West Virginia Watch
February 27, 2026

A bill moving in the West Virginia Senate would reinstate the death penalty for people convicted of first-degree murder and first-degree sexual abuse of children in the same proceeding. 

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Senate Bill 1037 Thursday afternoon.

The committee heard the testimony of Jackson County Sheriff Ross Mellinger about the 2016 sexual assault and murder of nine-month-old Emmaleigh Barringer.

Benjamin Taylor, 34, who was the child’s mother’s boyfriend at the time, was convicted of first-degree murder, death of a child by child abuse and sexual abuse by guardian after a 2019 trial. Taylor was sentenced to life in prison without mercy.

Mellinger, who was then the county’s chief deputy, recalled getting a 4 a.m. call from the deputy who initially responded to the sexual assault.

Mellinger said he met the deputy at an emergency room, he said. 

“What I saw can’t be described,” he said. “The worst part about this entire incident was the baby was still alive. She lived through every bit of it for two days after the assault.”

Emmaleigh’s story was the impetus for Emmaleigh’s Law, which enhanced the penalties for fatal child abuse by parents and guardians. 

“When you look at this type of a dynamic, this is different,” Mellinger said. “And I don’t want to minimize other victims of sexual assault. And please don’t mistake that for this. But this is different. These types of people do not rehabilitate.” 

The bill’s lead sponsor, Sen. Kevan Bartlett, R-Kanawha, the pastor of a church, said some perpetrators “void their right to exist in our society.”

“Thankfully these are rare cases,” Bartlett said. “And when the state contemplates capital punishment, it ought to be the most extreme and rare cases. I don’t know how we could even imagine a more extreme case than this. So I advocate for the bill. I advocate bringing capital punishment back to the state of West Virginia to value life. Because those that devalue life forfeit their right to coexist with the rest of us.”

West Virginia abolished the death penalty in 1965. Last year, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Senate Bill 264, which would have reinstated capital punishment for those convicted of intentionally killing a law-enforcement officer or first responder in the line of duty. The bill was not passed.

Sen. Brian Helton, R-Fayette, spoke in support of Senate Bill 1037, saying it’s needed. 

“I agree wholeheartedly that there are individuals in our society who cannot be rehabilitated, who do not value human life,” Helton said. “And the appropriate punishment is in this bill, and it needs to be capital punishment.” 

Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, opposed the bill, saying that he’s proud that West Virginia does not have a death penalty. 

He referenced the case of Fred Zain, a former serologist for the State Police Crime Lab whose testimony led to the conviction of more than 100 people before it was discovered that Zain fabricated forensic evidence. 

“You try to put provisions in a bill like this, you try to make sure that there’s not circumstantial evidence, that there be some DNA,” Garcia said. “That’s been screwed up before… we’re focusing on one situation that was awful and horrible. But there are situations where somebody can be executed and you got the wrong person. It absolutely can happen.” 

Sen. Scott Fuller, R-Wayne, said he supports the bill “wholeheartedly” because some defendants like Taylor cannot be rehabilitated.

“This person is doing nothing but taking up resources and bringing back memories for the family that he traumatized,” Fuller said.

According to a fiscal note from the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, bringing back the death penalty in this bill would cost the state $116,825 per year to hire an additional staff attorney to handle appeals. 

The bill will next go to the Senate Finance Committee for consideration. 

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West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com.