§ 2704. Assault by life prisoner.
Every person who has been sentenced to death or life imprisonment in any penal institution
located in this Commonwealth, and whose sentence has not been commuted, who commits
an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon or instrument upon another, or by any means
of force likely to produce serious bodily injury, is guilty of a crime, the penalty
for which shall be the same as the penalty for murder of the second degree. A person
is guilty of this offense if:
(1) he intentionally or knowingly causes another to come into contact with blood, seminal
fluid, saliva, urine or feces by throwing, tossing, spitting or expelling such fluid
or material when, at the time of the offense, the person knew, had reason to know,
should have known or believed such fluid or material to have been obtained from an
individual, including the person charged under this section, infected by a communicable
disease declared reportable by regulation authorized by the act of April 23, 1956
(1955 P.L.1510, No.500), known as the Disease Prevention and Control Law of 1955;
and
(2) the communicable disease referenced in paragraph (1) is communicable to another by
the method used or attempted to be used to cause another to come into contact with
the blood, seminal fluid, saliva, urine or feces.
(Mar. 26, 1974, P.L.213, No.46, eff. imd.; Feb. 18, 1998, P.L.102, No.19, eff. imd.;
Nov. 3, 2022, P.L.1634, No.99, eff. 60 days)
Cross References. Section 2704 is referred to in sections 2702.1, 2703, 6105 of this title; section
9802 of Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure); section 7122 of Title 61 (Prisons
and Parole).
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
21
cases (
5 in the last 5 years), 1976–2023 · leading case:
Com. v. Cobbs, J., 230 A.3d 388 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2020).
Com. v. Cobbs, J., 230 A.3d 388 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2020).
· cites it 6× “Appellant’s PCRA petition sought relief from a sentence of life imprisonment without parole under 18 Pa.C.S. § 2704, which imposes a mandatory life sentence for assaults by prisoners under life sentence, based on Miller v.”
Commonwealth v. Terry, 521 A.2d 398 (Pa. 1987).
· cites it 2× “[3] 18 Pa.C.S. § 2704. [4] 18 Pa.C.S. § 2702.”
Commonwealth v. Karns, 50 A.3d 158 (Pa. 2012).
“18 Pa.C.S. § 2704 (relating to assault by life prisoner).”
Commonwealth v. Bryant, 361 A.2d 350 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1976).
· cites it 2× “Appellant was charged with simple assault and with assault by a life prisoner, was tried and convicted on November 27,' 1974 by a judge sitting without a jury, and was sentenced the same day to the life sentence mandated by 18 Pa.C.S. §2704. Appeal was taken to our Court from…”
Commonwealth v. Williams, 868 A.2d 529 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2005).
“18 Pa.C.S. § 2704 (relating to assault by life prisoner).”
Commonwealth v. Hernandez, 488 A.2d 293 (Pa. 1985).
“Bearing this distinction in mind, we find no significant difference in the language or rationale of the mandatory sentencing provisions in sections 3731(e)(1) and 3735 and the mandatory sentencing provisions in 18 Pa.”
Commonwealth v. Sarapa, 13 A.3d 961 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2011).
“18 Pa.C.S. § 2704 (relating to assault by life prisoner).”
Commonwealth v. Kenney, 210 A.3d 1077 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2019).
“18 Pa.C.S. § 2704 (relating to assault by life prisoner).”
Com. v. Cobbs, J., 2020 Pa. Super. 44 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2020).
· cites it 6× “Appellant’s PCRA petition sought relief from a sentence of life imprisonment without parole under 18 Pa.C.S. § 2704, which imposes a mandatory life sentence for assaults by prisoners under life sentence, based on Miller v.”
Commonwealth v. Hoffman, 123 A.3d 1065 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2015).
“18 Pa.C.S. § 2704 (relating to assault by life prisoner).”
Durham v. Fleming Companies, Inc., 727 F. Supp. 179 (E.D. Pa. 1989).
“, and the state reckless endangerment statute, Title 18 Pa. Cons.Stat. Ann. § 2704. The court found that plaintiff had not alleged facts sufficient to support a finding of specific intent to harm, and that her discharge did not violate the type of significant and clearly…”
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2704(a)(1) — 1 case
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2704(a)(4) — 1 case
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treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.