Vetoed by Governor Tate Reeves

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to adopt a conference report and pass a bill that establishes the Mississippi Correctional Safety and Rehabilitation Act of 2020.

Highlights:

• Authorizes every prisoner who has been convicted of any offense against the state, and is confined in the execution of a judgment of such conviction in the Mississippi Department of Corrections for a definite term of one year or more, or for the term of their natural life, whose record of conduct shows that such prisoner has observed the rules of the department, and who has served no less than one-fourth of the total of such term for which they were sentenced, or, if sentenced for the term of the natural life of such prisoner and has served no less than 10 years of their life sentence, to be released on parole as follows (Sec. 2):

• No person sentenced as a confirmed and habitual criminal under the provisions of Sections 99-19-81 through 99-19-87 will be eligible for parole;

• Any person convicted of a sex crime will not be released on parole except for a person under the age of nineteen who has been convicted under Section 97-3-67;

• No person shall be eligible for parole who, on or after July 1, 1994, is sentenced to life imprisonment without eligibility for parole under the provisions of Section 99-19-101;

• No person will be eligible for parole who is convicted of an offense that specifically prohibits parole release;

• All eligible persons for parole who are serving a sentence for a crime of violence will be required to have a parole hearing before the board before parole release, with the conditions that:

• A person who is sentenced after June 30, 1995, and before July 1, 2014, of a violent crime will be eligible for parole only after having served 50 percent or 20 years, whichever is less, of the sentence imposed by the trial court;

• A person who is sentenced on or after July 1, 2014, of a violent crime will be eligible for parole only after having served 50 percent or 30 years, whichever is less, of the sentence imposed by the trial court; and

• All persons sentenced for any other offense after June 30, 1995, will be eligible for parole only after they have served 25 percent of the sentence imposed by the trial court;

• A person serving a sentence who has reached the age of 65 years or older and who has served no less than 10 years of the sentence or sentences imposed by the trial court shall be eligible for a parole hearing, with certain exceptions; and

• An offender who has served 25 percent or more of the sentence or sentences imposed by the trial court, or 10 years, whichever is less, maybe be paroled if the offender has been authorized to be considered for parole by the sentencing judge.

• Requires the department, with respect to parole-eligible inmates admitted to the department’s custody on or after July 1, 2020, to complete the case plan within 90 days of admission, and, with respect to parole-eligible inmates admitted to the department's custody before July 1, 2020, to complete the case plan by January 1, 2021 (Sec. 3).

• Requires victims or designated family members to be provided an opportunity to be heard by the board before the board makes a decision regarding release on parole (Sec. 8).

Full Bill Text