Inmate request for parole; limit how often request may be made by inmate.

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To: Corrections
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Wiggins

SENATE BILL NO. 2776

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