§ 16-93-206 - Board procedures. - Arkansas Statutes

16-93-206. Board procedures.

(a) (1) For those persons eligible for parole, the Parole Board shall retain the power to determine which persons shall be placed on parole and to fix the time and conditions of the parole.

(2) The Parole Board shall conduct open meetings and shall make public its findings for each eligible candidate for parole.

(3) Inmate interviews may be closed to the public.

(4) The Parole Board retains the right to formulate all policies, rules, and regulations regarding parole, including amendments to those previously formulated by the State Board of Parole and Community Rehabilitation.

(b) (1) (A) For persons who on or after January 1, 1994, commit felonies under the provisions of a transfer date, except those enumerated in subdivision (c)(1) of this section, the Department of Correction will transfer inmates to the Department of Community Correction subject to rules and regulations promulgated by the Board of Corrections and conditions set by the Parole Board.

(B) The conditions under which transfer shall occur include, but are not limited to:

(i) Level of supervision;

(ii) Economic fee sanction;

(iii) Treatment program; and

(iv) Other conditions relevant to the individual under review.

(C) This review may be conducted without a hearing when:

(i) The inmate has not received a major disciplinary report against him or her that resulted in the loss of good time;

(ii) There has not been a request by a victim to have input on transfer conditions; and

(iii) There is no indication in the risk needs assessment review that special conditions need to be placed on the inmate.

(2) (A) When one (1) or more of the circumstances in subdivision (b)(1) of this section are present, the Parole Board shall conduct a hearing to determine the appropriateness of the inmate for transfer.

(B) The Parole Board has two (2) options:

(i) To transfer the individual to the Department of Community Correction accompanied by conditions of the transfer, including, but not limited to, supervision levels, programming requirements, and facility placement when appropriate; or

(ii) (a) To deny the transfer based on a set of established criteria and to accompany the denial with a course of action to be undertaken by the inmate to rectify the board's concerns.

(b) Upon completion of the course of action determined by the Parole Board, after final review of the inmate's file to ensure successful completion, the Parole Board shall authorize the inmate's transfer to the Department of Community Correction in accordance with administrative policies and procedures governing a transfer and subject to conditions attached to the transfer.

(3) Should an inmate fail to fulfill the course of action outlined by the Parole Board to facilitate transfer to the Department of Community Correction, it shall be the responsibility of the inmate to petition the Parole Board for rehearing.

(4) (A) The course of action required by the Parole Board shall not be outside the current resources of the Department of Correction, nor shall conditions set be outside the current resources of the Department of Community Correction.

(B) However, the Department of Correction and the Department of Community Correction shall strive to accommodate the actions required by the Parole Board to the best of their ability.

(c) (1) A person who commits the following felonies on or after January 1, 1994, shall be eligible to be considered for discretionary transfer to the Department of Community Correction by the Parole Board after having served one-third (1/3) or one-half (1/2) of his or her sentence, with credit for meritorious good time, depending on the seriousness determination made by the Arkansas Sentencing Commission, or one-half (1/2) of the time to which his or her sentence is commuted by executive clemency, with credit for meritorious good time:

(A) Any homicide, 5-10-101 -- 5-10-105;

(B) Sexual assault in the first degree, 5-14-124;

(C) Sexual assault in the second degree, 5-14-125;

(D) Battery in the first degree, 5-13-201;

(E) Domestic battering in the first degree, 5-26-303; or

(F) The following Class Y felonies:

(i) Kidnapping, 5-11-102;

(ii) Rape, 5-14-103;

(iii) Aggravated robbery, 5-12-103; or

(iv) Causing a catastrophe, 5-38-202(a);

(G) Engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, 5-64-405; or

(H) Simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, 5-74-106.

(2) (A) The transfer of an offender convicted of an above-listed offense is not automatic.

(B) The Parole Board will have the authority to transfer such an inmate at a time when, based on a combination of its opinion and appropriate assessment by a risk needs assessment tool, there is reasonable probability that the inmate can be released without detriment to the community or the inmate.

(C) After the Parole Board has fully considered and denied the transfer of an offender sentenced for committing an offense listed in subdivision (c)(1) of this section, the Parole Board may delay any reconsideration of the transfer for a maximum period of two (2) years.

(3) Notification of the court, prosecutor, sheriff, and the victim or the victim's next of kin shall follow the procedures set forth below:

(A) (i) Before the Parole Board shall grant any transfer, the Parole Board shall solicit the written or oral recommendations of the committing court, the prosecuting attorney, and the sheriff of the county from which the inmate was committed.

(ii) If the person whose transfer is being considered by the Parole Board was convicted of one (1) of the Class Y felonies enumerated in subdivision (c)(1) of this section, the Parole Board shall also notify the victim of the crime or the victim's next of kin of the transfer hearing and shall solicit written or oral recommendations of the victim or his or her next of kin regarding the granting of the transfer unless the prosecuting attorney has notified the Parole Board at the time of commitment of the prisoner that the victim or his or her next of kin does not want to be notified of future transfer hearings.

(iii) The recommendations shall not be binding upon the Parole Board in the granting of any transfer but shall be maintained in the inmate's file.

(iv) When soliciting recommendations from a victim of a crime, the Parole Board shall notify the victim or his or her next of kin of the date, time, and place of the transfer hearing;

(B) (i) The Parole Board shall not schedule transfer hearings at which victims or relatives of victims of crimes are invited to appear at a facility wherein inmates are housed other than the central administration building of the Department of Correction at Pine Bluff.

(ii) Nothing herein shall be construed as prohibiting the Parole Board from conducting transfer hearings in two (2) sessions, one (1) at the place of the inmate's incarceration for interviews with the inmate, the inmate's witnesses, and correctional personnel, and the second session for victims and relatives of victims as set out in subdivision (c)(3)(B)(i) of this section;

(C) (i) At the time that any person eligible under subdivision (c)(1) of this section is transferred by the Parole Board, the Department of Community Correction shall give written notice of the granting of the transfer to the sheriff, the committing court, and the chief of police of each city of the first class of the county from which the person was sentenced.

(ii) If the person is transferred to a county other than that from which he or she was committed, the Parole Board shall give notice to the chief of police or marshal of the city to which he or she is transferred, to the chief of police of each city of the first class and the sheriff of the county to which he or she is transferred, and to the sheriff of the county from which the person was committed; and

(D) (i) It shall be the responsibility of the prosecuting attorney of the county from which the inmate was committed to notify the Parole Board at the time of commitment of the desire of the victim or his or her next of kin to be notified of any future transfer hearings and to forward to the Parole Board the last known address and telephone number of the victim or his or her next of kin.

(ii) It shall be the responsibility of the victim or his or her next of kin to notify the Parole Board of any change in address or telephone number.

(iii) It shall be the responsibility of the victim or his or her next of kin to notify the Parole Board after the date of commitment of any change in regard to the desire to be notified of any future transfer hearings.

(d) (1) In all other felonies, before the Parole Board sets conditions for transfer of an inmate to community punishment, a victim or his or her next of kin in cases in which the victim is unable to express his or her wishes, who have expressed the wish to be consulted by the Parole Board shall be notified of the date, time, and place of the transfer hearing.

(2) (A) A victim or his or her next of kin who wishes to be consulted by the Parole Board shall inform the Parole Board in writing at the time of sentencing.

(B) A victim or his or her next of kin who does not so inform the Parole Board shall not be notified by the Parole Board.

(3) (A) Victim input to the Parole Board shall be limited to oral or written recommendations on conditions relevant to the offender under review for transfer.

(B) The recommendations shall not be binding on the Parole Board, but shall be given due consideration within the resources available for transfer.

(e) (1) The Parole Board shall approve a set of conditions that shall be applicable to all inmates transferred from the Department of Correction to the Department of Community Correction.

(2) The set of conditions is subject to periodic review and revision as the Parole Board deems necessary.

(f) The Parole Board shall set such conditions as necessary within the range of correctional resources available at the time of transfer.

(g) (1) The Parole Board shall serve as the revocation review board for any person subject to either parole or transfer from prison.

(2) Revocation proceedings for either parole or transfer shall follow all legal requirements applicable to parole and shall be subject to any additional policies, rules, and regulations set by the Parole Board.

(h) Decisions on parole release, courses of action applicable prior to transfer, and transfer conditions to be set by the Parole Board shall be based on a reasoned and rational plan developed in conjunction with an accepted risk needs assessment tool such that each decision is defensible based on preestablished criteria.