ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Fifty-seventh Legislature

First Regular Session

 

☐ Prop 105 (45 votes) ☐ Prop 108 (40 votes) ☐ Emergency (40 votes) ☐ Fiscal Note

HB 2676: parole eligibility; classifications

Sponsor: Representative Powell, LD 14

Committee on Judiciary

Overview

Broadens parole eligibility to include all persons sentenced to life imprisonment for felonies committed on or after January 1, 1994.

History

By and large, Arizona does not use parole in its sentencing of convicts. Laws 1993, Chapter 255 (SB 1049, commonly called truth-in-sentencing) abolished parole for nearly all offenses committed on or after January 1, 1994, replacing it with a new set of release and supervision mechanisms. Offenders are eligible for earned release credits based on good behavior; these credits can reduce the amount of time spent in prison by a maximum of one-sixth (16.6%) of the sentence length. Upon release, offenders are then placed under community supervision, for a time period equal to one-seventh (14.2%) of the imposed prison sentence; during community supervision, the offender is supervised by the Department of Corrections (DOC) and must abide by all of DOC's conditions of supervision. In short, earned release credits reduce time in prison, and community supervision is a post-release oversight period (A.R.S. §§ 13-603; Title 31, Chapter 3; Title 41, Chapter 11, Article 1).

However, a small number of convicts sentenced after 1993 are still eligible for parole. Specifically, some of those who are sentenced to life imprisonment — not to be confused with natural life imprisonment (commonly called life without parole) — may be eligible for parole. Pursuant to A.R.S. § 13-716, a person sentenced to life imprisonment for a crime committed before he was 18 years old is eligible for parole after completing a minimum prison sentence length; the person will remain subject to parole for the remainder of his life. Similarly, A.R.S. § 13-718 provides that a first-degree murderer, who entered into a plea agreement prior to August 3, 2018 that stipulated parole eligibility, is eligible for parole after completing a minimum sentence.

Provisions

1.   Repeals parole eligibility statutes for juvenile offenders and first-degree murder convicts who entered into a plea agreement. (Sec. 1)

2.   Creates a new qualification for parole eligibility to include all those who committed a felony on or after January 1, 1994, and who received a life sentence. (Sec. 3)

3.   Makes conforming changes. (Sec. 2)

 

 

 

 

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                        HB 2676

Initials NM    Page 0 Judiciary

 

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