SECTIONS 4500-4504 - California Statutes

PENAL CODE

SECTION 4500-4504

4500. Every person while undergoing a life sentence, who is
sentenced to state prison within this state, and who, with malice
aforethought, commits an assault upon the person of another with a
deadly weapon or instrument, or by any means of force likely to
produce great bodily injury is punishable with death or life
imprisonment without possibility of parole. The penalty shall be
determined pursuant to the provisions of Sections 190.3 and 190.4;
however, in cases in which the person subjected to such assault does
not die within a year and a day after such assault as a proximate
result thereof, the punishment shall be imprisonment in the state
prison for life without the possibility of parole for nine years.
For the purpose of computing the days elapsed between the
commission of the assault and the death of the person assaulted, the
whole of the day on which the assault was committed shall be counted
as the first day.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the
application of this section when the assault was committed outside
the walls of any prison if the person committing the assault was
undergoing a life sentence and was serving a sentence to a state
prison at the time of the commission of the assault and was not on
parole, on probation, or released on bail pending an appeal.

4501. Except as provided in Section 4500, every person confined in
a state prison of this state who commits an assault upon the person
of another with a deadly weapon or instrument, or by any means of
force likely to produce great bodily injury, shall be guilty of a
felony and shall be imprisoned in the state prison for two, four, or
six years to be served consecutively.

4501.1. (a) Every person confined in the state prison who commits a
battery by gassing upon the person of any peace officer, as defined
in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2, or
employee of the state prison is guilty of aggravated battery and
shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail or by imprisonment
in the state prison for two, three, or four years. Every state
prison inmate convicted of a felony under this section shall serve
his or her term of imprisonment as prescribed in Section 4501.5.
(b) For purposes of this section, "gassing" means intentionally
placing or throwing, or causing to be placed or thrown, upon the
person of another, any human excrement or other bodily fluids or
bodily substances or any mixture containing human excrement or other
bodily fluids or bodily substances that results in actual contact
with the person's skin or membranes.
(c) The warden or other person in charge of the state prison shall
use every available means to immediately investigate all reported or
suspected violations of subdivision (a), including, but not limited
to, the use of forensically acceptable means of preserving and
testing the suspected gassing substance to confirm the presence of
human excrement or other bodily fluids or bodily substances. If there
is probable cause to believe that the inmate has violated
subdivision (a), the chief medical officer of the state prison or his
or her designee, may, when he or she deems it medically necessary to
protect the health of an officer or employee who may have been
subject to a violation of this section, order the inmate to receive
an examination or test for hepatitis or tuberculosis or both
hepatitis and tuberculosis on either a voluntary or involuntary basis
immediately after the event, and periodically thereafter as
determined to be necessary by the medical officer in order to ensure
that further hepatitis or tuberculosis transmission does not occur.
These decisions shall be consistent with an occupational exposure as
defined by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The results
of any examination or test shall be provided to the officer or
employee who has been subject to a reported or suspected violation of
this section. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to
otherwise supersede the operation of Title 8 (commencing with Section
7500). Any person performing tests, transmitting test results, or
disclosing information pursuant to this section shall be immune from
civil liability for any action taken in accordance with this section.
(d) The warden or other person in charge of the state prison shall
refer all reports for which there is probable cause to believe that
the inmate has violated subdivision (a) to the local district
attorney for prosecution.
(e) The Department of Corrections shall report to the Legislature,
by January 1, 2000, its findings and recommendations on gassing
incidents at the state prison and the medical testing authorized by
this section. The report shall include, but not be limited to, all of
the following:
(1) The total number of gassing incidents at each state prison
facility up to the date of the report.
(2) The disposition of each gassing incident, including the
administrative penalties imposed, the number of incidents that are
prosecuted, and the results of those prosecutions, including any
penalties imposed.
(3) A profile of the inmates who commit the aggravated batteries,
including the number of inmates who have one or more prior serious or
violent felony convictions.
(4) Efforts that the department has taken to limit these
incidents, including staff training and the use of protective
clothing and goggles.
(5) The results and costs of the medical testing authorized by
this section.
(f) Nothing in this section shall preclude prosecution under both
this section and any other provision of law.

4501.5. Every person confined in a state prison of this state who
commits a battery upon the person of any individual who is not
himself a person confined therein shall be guilty of a felony and
shall be imprisoned in the state prison for two, three, or four
years, to be served consecutively.

4502. (a) Every person who, while at or confined in any penal
institution, while being conveyed to or from any penal institution,
or while under the custody of officials, officers, or employees of
any penal institution, possesses or carries upon his or her person or
has under his or her custody or control any instrument or weapon of
the kind commonly known as a blackjack, slungshot, billy, sandclub,
sandbag, or metal knuckles, any explosive substance, or fixed
ammunition, any dirk or dagger or sharp instrument, any pistol,
revolver, or other firearm, or any tear gas or tear gas weapon, is
guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state
prison for two, three, or four years, to be served consecutively.
(b) Every person who, while at or confined in any penal
institution, while being conveyed to or from any penal institution,
or while under the custody of officials, officers, or employees of
any penal institution, manufactures or attempts to manufacture any
instrument or weapon of the kind commonly known as a blackjack,
slungshot, billy, sandclub, sandbag, or metal knuckles, any explosive
substance, or fixed ammunition, any dirk or dagger or sharp
instrument, any pistol, revolver, or other firearm, or any tear gas
or tear gas weapon, is guilty of a felony and shall be punished by
imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, or two or three
years, to be served consecutively.
(c) For purposes of this section, "penal institution" means the
state prison, a prison road camp, prison forestry camp, or other
prison camp or farm, or a county jail or county road camp.

4503. Any person confined therein who holds as hostage any person
within any prison or facility under the jurisdiction of the Director
of Corrections, or who by force or threat of force holds any person
or persons against their will in defiance of official orders within
any such prison or facility, shall be guilty of a felony and shall be
imprisoned in the state prison for three, five, or seven years to be
served consecutively.

4504. For purposes of this chapter:
(a) A person is deemed confined in a "state prison" if he is
confined in any of the prisons and institutions specified in Section
5003 by order made pursuant to law, including, but not limited to,
commitments to the Department of Corrections or the Department of the
Youth Authority, regardless of the purpose of such confinement and
regardless of the validity of the order directing such confinement,
until a judgment of a competent court setting aside such order
becomes final.
(b) A person is deemed "confined in" a prison although, at the
time of the offense, he is temporarily outside its walls or bounds
for the purpose of serving on a work detail or for the purpose of
confinement in a local correctional institution pending trial or for
any other purpose for which a prisoner may be allowed temporarily
outside the walls or bounds of the prison, but a prisoner who has
been released on parole is not deemed "confined in" a prison for
purposes of this chapter.