District 79 Representative Dustin Hite is looking to increase criminal penalties for a specific felony following a 2019 incident in Mahaska County.

Hite says this session, he seeks to have the Iowa Legislature pass a statute that would increase the penalty for Abuse of a Corpse from a Class D felony to Class C felony.

Hite references a case in which Mahaska County residents were accused of attempting to hide the overdose death of 24-year-old Ashley Shaffer. Hite says the individuals charged all faced several Class D felonies — including Abuse of a Corpse, but under Iowa law, that act had no more weight in terms of punishment than the drug possession itself or other Class D charges in state code.

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