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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 2678
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE JOHNSON.
5934H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o amend chapter 217, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to parole hearings
for certain of fenders.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 217, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be
2 known as section 217.691, to read as follows:
217.691. 1. As used in this section, unless a differ ent meaning is plainly r equir ed
2 by the context, the following terms mean:
3 (1) "Adolescent", a person eighteen years of age or older but under twenty-two
4 years of age;
5 (2) "Conduct", includes any act or omission;
6 (3) "Course of conduct", a pattern of conduct that may be tracked over a period
7 of time;
8 (4) "IPO", institutional par ole officer;
9 (5) "Mental health pr ofessional", a psychologist, psychiatric nurse, or
1 0 psychiatric social worker;
11 (6) "Offender", a person who is eligible for a parol e hearing under this section.
12 2. Notwithstanding any pro vision of law , an offender committed to the
13 department as an adolescent may file a petition with the board for a par ole hearing, and
14 the board shall grant such hearing so long as the requ irem ents of this section ar e met.
15 3. (1) The board shall grant a par ole hearing to an offender who:
16 (a) W as an adolescent at the time an offense was committed;
17 (b) Has been sentenced to twenty-five or mor e years to the department;
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
18 (c) Is serving his or her first commitment with the department;
19 (d) Has not been sentenced to death; and
20 (e) Has served at least fifteen years of his or her sentence.
21 (2) (a) The board shall rev iew the petition within thirty days of receip t of the
22 petition. An offender filing a petition under this section shall meet the r equir ements
23 under subdivision (1) of this subsection. If the board determines that the petition is
24 appr opriately filed, the board shall notify the offender in writing within six months of
25 r eceipt of the petition. The notice shall include a basis for the board's determination.
26 (b) If the board determines that the petition is appr opriately filed, the board
27 shall notify the IPO. The IPO shall meet with the offender and prov ide the offender
28 with information reg arding the par ole hearing. The IPO shall also investigate the
29 offender's reh abilitation efforts. Such efforts shall include, but are not limited to, the
30 following:
31 a. The offender's work assignments;
32 b. The offender's rehab ilitation pr ograms;
33 c. The offender's institutional behavior; and
34 d. Whether the offender has obtained a high school diploma, general educational
35 development certificate (GED), or its equivalent.
36 (c) The IPO shall file a written r eport of the investigation. The report shall
37 include a course of conduct that will show the offender's reha bilitation efforts pr ovided
38 in paragraph (b) of this subdivision. The IPO may make recomm endations, and such
39 r ecommendations shall be completed by the offender unless the board is satisfied that
40 the offender , while committed to the custody of the department, has made a good-faith
41 effort to complete the recomm endations of the IPO.
42 4. (1) No less than twelve months prior to the par ole hearing, the board shall
43 pr ovide written notification to any victim or family of the victim. The written
44 notification shall contain:
45 (a) The date, time, and location of the parol e hearing;
46 (b) Information rega rding the victim's or family of the victim's right to be
47 pr esent at the par ole hearing and the victim's or family of the victim's right to make an
48 oral statement and submit information in writing or by videotape, tape record ing, or
49 other electr onic means;
50 (c) A toll-free number to call for further information regard ing the par ole
51 hearing; and
52 (d) Information regard ing available reso urces, including trauma-information
53 therapy that may be accessible to the victim or family of the victim.
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54 (2) Any victim or family of the victim who advises the board in writing that the
55 victim or family of the victim no longer wishes to be notified of any paro le hearing shall
56 not r eceive futur e par ole hearing notices. If the board does not have knowledge of the
57 curr ent addr ess of the victim or family of the victim, the board shall notify the
58 pr osecuting attorney of the county or the circu it attorney of the city in which the offense
59 was committed and re quest assistance in locating the victim or family of the victim. The
60 victim or family of the victim may submit any information prior to or at the par ole
61 hearing. The victim or family of the victim shall have a right to be heard at the par ole
62 hearing.
63 5. (1) The offender shall be pr esent during the par ole hearing unless health
64 pr oblems pr event the offender's pr esence. A psychological evaluation shall be pr epar ed
65 by a mental health pr ofessional. The evaluation shall include:
66 (a) The offender's mental health scor e;
67 (b) The offender's mental maturity; and
68 (c) The offender's ability to make corr ect decisions.
69 (2) The board shall take into consideration the diminished culpability of the
70 offender , any subsequent grow th by the offender , increa sed maturity of the offender , and
71 the offender's mental health r eport. At the hearing, the offender shall have the right to
72 make a statement on his or her behalf. The board shall not par ole the offender if the
73 board determines that:
74 (a) There is a substantial risk that the offender will not conform to reas onable
75 conditions of par ole; or
76 (b) The offender has shown insufficient course of conduct that would indicate
77 that the offender has been r ehabilitated to be a pr oductive member of the community .
78 (3) Only upon motion for good cause shall the date for the par ole hearing be
79 r escheduled. No less than thirty days prior to the hearing shall the offender r equest that
80 the parol e hearing be res cheduled to a later date. The board shall not accept a requ est
81 for a continuance that is less than thr ee months or mor e than five years fr om the
82 original hearing date. The board, upon good cause, may ref use to grant the offender's
83 r equest for continuance. If the date for the paro le hearing is res cheduled, the board
84 shall notify the victim or family of the victim and the offender of the exact date and time
85 for the new hearing. A paro le hearing shall not be open to the public.
86 (4) Unless par ole is denied under subdivision (2) of this subsection, the offender
87 shall be requ ired to attend a r eentry pr ogram that would assist the offender in the
88 transition fr om incar ceration to being a member of the community . The offender's
89 attendance in the ree ntry pro gram shall not occur less than nine months prior to r elease.
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90 The offender's rele ase date under this section shall not be affected due to lack of
91 institutional space, waiting lists, or the department's inability to provi de a pr ogram.
92 6. (1) Unless par ole is denied under subdivision (2) of subsection 5 of this
93 section, an offender serving a sentence:
94 (a) For a nonviolent offense shall be r eleased on parol e after thr ee years of
95 supervised parol e;
96 (b) For a violent offense shall be relea sed on paro le after five years of supervised
97 par ole; and
98 (c) Of life or life without paro le shall be r eleased on paro le after ten years of
99 supervised parol e,
100
101 which shall operate to discharge any rem aining terms of years imposed upon the
102 offender . However , in no event shall the offender serve a period of mandatory
103 supervised release gr eater than the term imposed by the court.
104 (2) If the board denies par ole under subdivision (2) of subsection 5 of this section
105 after conducting a hearing, the board shall issue a written decision that states the
106 rational basis for the denial. The decision shall be pro vided to the offender within thirty
107 days.
108 (3) An offender denied parol e under subdivision (2) of subsection 5 of this
109 section shall be eligible for a:
110 (a) Second parol e hearing thr ee years after the written decision denying par ole;
111 and
112 (b) Third or subsequent hearing five years after the written decision denying
113 par ole.
114
115 The pr ocedur e for any reh earing under this subdivision shall be governed by subsection
116 5 of this section.
117 (4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to delay par ole or mandatory
118 supervised r elease consideration for an offender who would be otherwise eligible for
119 r elease earlier than this section pr ovides. Nothing in this section shall be construed to
120 limit, substitute, or bar an offender's right to any manner of r elief granted by the court
121 under any other pr ovision of law .
✔
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