§ 11-5-10.2 - Assault on persons with severe impairments causing serious bodily injury. - Rhode Island Statutes

SECTION 11-5-10.2

   § 11-5-10.2  Assault on persons with severeimpairments causing serious bodily injury. – (a) Any person who shall commit an assault or battery, or both, upon a person,with severe impairments causing serious bodily injury, shall be deemed to havecommitted a felony and shall be imprisoned for not less than two (2) years butnot more than twenty (20) years, or fined not more than five thousand dollars($5,000), or both. Every person so convicted shall be ordered to makerestitution to the victim of the offense or to perform up to five hundred (500)hours of public community restitution work, or both, or any combination of themimposed by the sentencing judge. The court may not waive the obligation to makerestitution and/or public community restitution work. The restitution and/orpublic community restitution work shall be in addition to any fine or sentencewhich may be imposed and not in lieu of the fine or sentence.

   (b) "Serious bodily injury" means physical injury that:

   (1) Creates a substantial risk of death, seriousdisfigurement;

   (2) Causes protracted loss or impairment of the function ofany bodily part, member or organ; or

   (3) Causes serious permanent disfigurement.

   (c) For the purposes of this section:

   (1) "Adult" means a person over the age of eighteen (18).

   (2) "Major life activities" means: (i) mobility; (ii)self-care; (iii) communication; (iv) receptive and/or expressive language; (v)learning; (vi) self-direction; (vii) capacity for independent living; or (viii)economic self-sufficiency.

   (3) "Person with severe impairments" means a child or adultwho has a disability which is attributable to a mental or physical impairmentor combination of mental and physical impairments and results in substantialfunctional limitations in one or more major life activities.

   (d) Violations of this section shall be reported to the localpolice department.

   (e) After July 1, 2007 pursuant to § 40-8.5-2, the localpolice department may request the department of mental health, retardation, andhospitals provide crisis intervention services for the adult victim with severeimpairments when:

   (1) Necessary to ensure the immediate health and safety ofthe adult victim; and

   (2) The adult victim relies on the person believed to havecommitted the assault and/or battery, for assistance in performing three (3) ormore major life activities.