It soon could be against the law to publish mug shots in West Virginia.
House Bill 4621 passed the House of Delegates on Tuesday by a 54-46 vote following an extended debate. It now goes to the state Senate for consideration.
The bill would prohibit the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation from releasing booking photographs for most defendants.
The bill also includes provisions aimed at cracking down on so-called “remove-for-pay” websites. These for-profit sites post publicly available mug shots and charge fees for their removal.
Del. Larry Rowe, D-Kanawha, said mug shots should be considered part of an ongoing investigation and therefore shouldn’t be made public.
“Somehow these photographs have become presumed to be public information, and they’re not,” he said.
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