Petition for parole eligibility consideration by trial court; require certain waiting period before successive filing of when petition denied.

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To: Judiciary B
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Horan

HOUSE BILL NO. 1583

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 47-7-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
REVISE PAROLE ELIGIBILITY FOR OFFENDERS CONVICTED OF CERTAIN DRUG 2
TRAFFICKING; TO PROVIDE THAT IF AN OFFENDER WHOSE PETITION FOR 3
PAROLE ELIGIBILITY HAS BEEN DENIED BY THE CIRCUIT COURT, THEN SUCH 4
OFFENDER MUST WAIT TWO YEARS BEFORE FILING A SUCCESSIVE PETITION; 5
TO REMOVE THE REPEALER ON THIS SECTION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 6
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 7
SECTION 1. Section 47-7-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 8
amended as follows: 9
47-7-3. (1) Every prisoner who has been convicted of any 10
offense against the State of Mississippi, and is confined in the 11
execution of a judgment of such conviction in the Mississippi 12
Department of Corrections for a definite term or terms of one (1) 13
year or over, or for the term of his or her natural life, whose 14
record of conduct shows that such prisoner has observed the rules 15
of the department, and who has served the minimum required time 16
for parole eligibility, may be released on parole as set forth 17
herein: 18
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(a) Habitual offenders. Except as provided by Sections 19
99-19-81 through 99-19-87, no person sentenced as a confirmed and 20
habitual criminal shall be eligible for parole; 21
(b) Sex offenders. Any person who has been sentenced 22
for a sex offense as defined in Section 45-33-23(h) shall not be 23
released on parole except for a person under the age of nineteen 24
(19) who has been convicted under Section 97-3-67; 25
(c) Capital offenders. No person sentenced for the 26
following offenses shall be eligible for parole: 27
(i) Capital murder committed on or after July 1, 28
1994, as defined in Section 97-3-19(2); 29
(ii) Any offense to which an offender is sentenced 30
to life imprisonment under the provisions of Section 99-19-101; or 31
(iii) Any offense to which an offender is 32
sentenced to life imprisonment without eligibility for parole 33
under the provisions of Section 99-19-101, whose crime was 34
committed on or after July 1, 1994; 35
(d) Murder. No person sentenced for murder in the 36
first degree, whose crime was committed on or after June 30, 1995, 37
or murder in the second degree, as defined in Section 97-3-19, 38
shall be eligible for parole; 39
(e) Human trafficking. No person sentenced for human 40
trafficking, as defined in Section 97-3-54.1, whose crime was 41
committed on or after July 1, 2014, shall be eligible for parole; 42
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(f) Drug trafficking. No person sentenced for * * * 43
aggravated trafficking, as defined in Section 41-29-139 * * * (g), 44
shall be eligible for parole but a person sentenced for 45
trafficking, as defined in Section 41-29-139(f), shall be eligible 46
for parole only after having served fifty percent (50%) of the 47
sentence or sentences imposed by the trial court; 48
(g) Offenses specifically prohibiting parole release. 49
No person shall be eligible for parole who is convicted of any 50
offense that specifically prohibits parole release; 51
(h) (i) Offenders eligible for parole consideration 52
for offenses committed after June 30, 1995. Except as provided in 53
paragraphs (a) through (g) of this subsection, offenders may be 54
considered eligible for parole release as follows: 55
1. Nonviolent crimes. All persons sentenced 56
for a nonviolent offense shall be eligible for parole only after 57
they have served twenty-five percent (25%) or ten (10) years, 58
whichever is less, of the sentence or sentences imposed by the 59
trial court. For purposes of this paragraph, "nonviolent crime" 60
means a felony not designated as a crime of violence in Section 61
97-3-2. 62
2. Violent crimes. A person who is sentenced 63
for a violent offense as defined in Section 97-3-2, except robbery 64
with a deadly weapon as defined in Section 97-3-79, drive-by 65
shooting as defined in Section 97-3-109, and carjacking as defined 66
in Section 97-3-117, shall be eligible for parole only after 67
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having served fifty percent (50%) or twenty (20) years, whichever 68
is less, of the sentence or sentences imposed by the trial court. 69
Those persons sentenced for robbery with a deadly weapon as 70
defined in Section 97-3-79, drive-by shooting as defined in 71
Section 97-3-109, and carjacking as defined in Section 97-3-117, 72
shall be eligible for parole only after having served sixty 73
percent (60%) or twenty-five (25) years, whichever is less, of the 74
sentence or sentences imposed by the trial court. 75
3. Nonviolent and nonhabitual drug offenses. 76
A person who has been sentenced to a drug offense pursuant to 77
Section 41-29-139(a) through (d), whose crime was committed after 78
June 30, 1995, shall be eligible for parole only after he has 79
served twenty-five percent (25%) or ten (10) years, whichever is 80
less, of the sentence or sentences imposed. 81
(ii) Parole hearing required. All persons 82
eligible for parole under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (h) 83
who are serving a sentence or sentences for a crime of violence, 84
as defined in Section 97-3-2, shall be required to have a parole 85
hearing before the Parole Board pursuant to Section 47-7-17, prior 86
to parole release. 87
(iii) Geriatric parole. Notwithstanding the 88
provisions in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (h), a person 89
serving a sentence who has reached the age of sixty (60) or older 90
and who has served no less than ten (10) years of the sentence or 91
sentences imposed by the trial court shall be eligible for parole. 92
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Any person eligible for parole under this subparagraph (iii) shall 93
be required to have a parole hearing before the board prior to 94
parole release. No inmate shall be eligible for parole under this 95
subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph (h) if: 96
1. The inmate is sentenced as a habitual 97
offender under Sections 99-19-81 through 99-19-87; 98
2. The inmate is sentenced for a crime of 99
violence under Section 97-3-2; 100
3. The inmate is sentenced for an offense 101
that specifically prohibits parole release; 102
4. The inmate is sentenced for trafficking in 103
controlled substances under Section 41-29-139(f); 104
5. The inmate is sentenced for a sex crime; 105
or 106
6. The inmate has not served one-fourth (1/4) 107
of the sentence imposed by the court. 108
(iv) Parole consideration as authorized by the 109
trial court. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of 110
this subsection, any offender who has not committed a crime of 111
violence under Section 97-3-2 and has served twenty-five percent 112
(25%) or more of his sentence may be paroled by the State Parole 113
Board if, after the sentencing judge or if the sentencing judge is 114
retired, disabled or incapacitated, the senior circuit judge 115
authorizes the offender to be eligible for parole consideration; 116
or if the senior circuit judge must be recused, another circuit 117
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judge of the same district or a senior status judge may hear and 118
decide the matter. A petition for parole eligibility 119
consideration pursuant to this subparagraph (iv) shall be filed in 120
the original criminal cause or causes, and the offender shall 121
serve an executed copy of the petition on the District Attorney. 122
The court may, in its discretion, require the District Attorney to 123
respond to the petition. If parole eligibility consideration is 124
denied by the judge assigned to the case, an offender must wait 125
two (2) years from the date of the entry of the order denying it 126
before filing another petition for parole eligibility 127
consideration unless leave of court is granted. Should an 128
offender whose parole eligibility has been denied attempt to file 129
another petition before the two (2) years has elapsed, the circuit 130
court shall return the petition to the petitioner without filing 131
the petition. 132
(2) The State Parole Board shall, by rules and regulations, 133
establish a method of determining a tentative parole hearing date 134
for each eligible offender taken into the custody of the 135
Department of Corrections. The tentative parole hearing date 136
shall be determined within ninety (90) days after the department 137
has assumed custody of the offender. Except as provided in 138
Section 47-7-18, the parole hearing date shall occur when the 139
offender is within thirty (30) days of the month of his parole 140
eligibility date. Any parole eligibility date shall not be 141
earlier than as required in this section. 142
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(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an inmate 143
shall not be eligible to receive earned time, good time or any 144
other administrative reduction of time which shall reduce the time 145
necessary to be served for parole eligibility as provided in 146
subsection (1) of this section. 147
(4) Any inmate within forty-eight (48) months of his parole 148
eligibility date and who meets the criteria established by the 149
classification board shall receive priority for placement in any 150
educational development and job-training programs that are part of 151
his or her parole case plan. Any inmate refusing to participate 152
in an educational development or job-training program, including, 153
but not limited to, programs required as part of the case plan, 154
shall be in jeopardy of noncompliance with the case plan and may 155
be denied parole. 156
(5) In addition to other requirements, if an offender is 157
convicted of a drug or driving under the influence felony, the 158
offender must complete a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program 159
prior to parole, or the offender shall be required to complete a 160
postrelease drug and alcohol program as a condition of parole. 161
(6) Except as provided in subsection (1)(a) through (h) of 162
this section, all other persons shall be eligible for parole after 163
serving twenty-five percent (25%) of the sentence or sentences 164
imposed by the trial court, or, if sentenced to thirty (30) years 165
or more, after serving ten (10) years of the sentence or sentences 166
imposed by the trial court. 167
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ST: Petition for parole eligibility
consideration by trial court; require certain
waiting period before successive filing of when
petition denied.
(7) The Corrections and Criminal Justice Oversight Task 168
Force established in Section 47-5-6 shall develop and submit 169
recommendations to the Governor and to the Legislature annually on 170
or before December 1st concerning issues relating to juvenile and 171
habitual offender parole reform and to review and monitor the 172
implementation of Chapter 479, Laws of 2021. 173
(8) The amendments contained in Chapter 479, Laws of 2021, 174
shall apply retroactively from and after July 1, 1995. 175
(9) Notwithstanding provisions to the contrary in this 176
section, a person who was sentenced before July 1, 2021, may be 177
considered for parole if the person's sentence would have been 178
parole eligible before July 1, 2021. 179
* * * 180
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 181
and after July 1, 2026. 182