HB 2229

Present law prohibits release eligibility for a person committing first degree murder, on or after July 1, 1995, and receiving a sentence of imprisonment for life. This bill establishes that a person committing first degree murder on or after July 1, 19 95, and before July 1, 2020, and receiving a sentence of imprisonment for life is eligible for parole after serving 25 calendar years if the person fulfills the following criteria , with the maximum sentence reduction not to exceed 3 5 years:  10 years must be deducted from the inmate's parole eligibility date for each sustained period of 10 consecutive years without a Class A violent disciplinary infraction. A Class A violent disciplinary infraction is either (i) assault on staff with or without a weapon; (ii) assault on another offender with or without a weapon; (iii) threatening staff or another offender; (iv) murder or attempted murder of staff or another offender; and (v) rape or attempted rape of staff or another offender. If a Class A violent disciplinary infraction occurs after a 10-year period of good conduct, then the previously accrued credit for avoiding a Class A violent disciplinary infraction is forfeited, and a new 10-year period of good conduct must be completed to regain eligibility for this credit.  10 years must be deducted from the inmate's parole eligibility date for each sustained period of 10 consecutive years without a drug-related disciplinary infraction. A drug-related disciplinary infraction is (i) possession or us age of an unauthorized Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance or (ii) sale or distribution of a Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance. Schedule I drugs generally include substances with high abuse potential and no accepted medical use, including, for example, heroin. Schedule II drugs generally include substances with high abuse potential, accepted medical uses, and severe dependence risk, including, for example, Oxycodone. If a drug-related disciplinary infraction occurs after a 10-year period of being drug-free, then any previously accrued credit for avoiding a drug-related disciplinary infraction is forfeited, and a new 10-year period of being drug-free must be completed to regain eligibility for this credit.  10 years must be deducted from the inmate's parole eligibility date upon the successful completion of an accredited postsecondary education program and the attainment of an associate degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree from an institution recognized by this state.  Five years must be deducted from the inmate's parole eligibility date upon the successful completion of the following programs offered by the department of correction or its accredited partners: (i) a career exploration class; (ii) a victim impact class; (iii) cognitive behavior therapy or a similar cognitive restructuring program; (iv) a family unification class; and (v) an early intervention class, if th e class is deemed appropriate by the department. This bill prohibits the credits earned in the above-described ways from running parallel to any good behavior or program credits awarded in other programs not described in this bill . Credits earned through the methods described above must be specifically applied toward the calculation of parole eligibility under this bill. This bill's effect is retroactive and applies to any person sentenced to imprisonment for life for the offense of first degree murder committed on or after July 1, 1995, and before July 1, 2020 , who, as of July 1, 2026, has already met one or more of the above-outlined criteria. The department is required to review the records of all such inmates and adjust the inmate's parole eligibility dates accordingly. If a person has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the offense of first degree murder committed on or after July 1, 1995, and before July 1, 2020, and the person also has other sentences running consecutively, then this bill requires that all of the person's sentences must be deemed to run concurrent to the life sentence if the person meets the criteria outlined above and is granted parole. Upon an inmate's fulfillment of the criteria listed above, this bill requires the board of parole to grant the inmate parole. The board has no discretion to deny parole based on the seriousness of the crime or a perceived risk of nonconformity to release conditions. This bill provides that a sentence of imprisonment for life automatically expires after the person has served 4 0 calendar years. An individual convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to imprisonment for life must not remain incarcerated for more than 40 years if parole has not been granted.