439.340 Parole of prisoners confined in adult penal or correctional institutions.
(1)
(2)
(3)
The board may release on parole persons confined in any adult state penal or
correctional institution of Kentucky or sentenced felons incarcerated in county jails
eligible for parole. All paroles shall issue upon order of the board duly adopted. As
soon as practicable after his or her admission to an adult state penal or correctional
institution or county jail if he or she is a sentenced felon, and at such intervals
thereafter as it may determine, the Department of Corrections shall obtain all
pertinent information regarding each prisoner, except those not eligible for parole.
The information shall include the results of his or her most recent risk and needs
assessment, his or her criminal record, his or her conduct, employment, and the
reports of physical and mental examinations that have been made. The Department
of Corrections shall furnish the circumstances of his or her offense, the results of his
or her most recent risk and needs assessment, and his or her previous social history
to the board. The Department of Corrections shall prepare a report on any
information it obtains. It shall be the duty of the Department of Corrections to
supplement this report with any material the board may request and submit the
report to the board.
Before granting the parole of any prisoner, the board shall consider the pertinent
information regarding the prisoner, including the results of his or her most recent
risk and needs assessment, and shall have him or her appear before it for interview
and hearing. The board in its discretion may hold interviews and hearings for
prisoners convicted of Class C felonies not included within the definition of
"violent offender" in KRS 439.3401 and Class D felonies. The board in its
discretion may request the parole board of another state confining prisoners
pursuant to KRS 196.610 to interview eligible prisoners and make a parole
recommendation to the board. A parole shall be ordered only for the best interest of
society and not as an award of clemency, and it shall not be considered a reduction
of sentence or pardon. A prisoner shall be placed on parole only when arrangements
have been made for his or her proper employment or for his or her maintenance and
care, and when the board believes he or she is able and willing to fulfill the
obligations of a law abiding citizen. Notwithstanding any statute to the contrary,
including KRS 440.330, when a prisoner is otherwise eligible for parole and the
board has recommended parole for that prisoner for the reasons set forth in this
subsection, the board may grant parole to any prisoner wanted as a fugitive by any
other jurisdiction, and the prisoner shall be released to the detainer from that
jurisdiction. Such parole shall not constitute a relinquishment of jurisdiction over
the prisoner, and the board in all cases expressly reserves the right to return the
prisoner to confinement in a correctional institution of the Commonwealth if the
prisoner violates the terms of his or her parole.
(a) A nonviolent offender convicted of a Class D felony with an aggregate
sentence of one (1) to five (5) years who is confined to a state penal institution
or county jail shall have his or her case reviewed by the Parole Board after
serving fifteen percent (15%) or two (2) months of the original sentence,
whichever is longer.
(b)
(4)
(5)
(6)
Except as provided in this section, the board shall adopt administrative
regulations with respect to the eligibility of prisoners for parole, the conduct
of parole and parole revocation hearings and all other matters that come
before it, or conditions to be imposed upon parolees. Regulations governing
the eligibility of prisoners for parole shall be in accordance with
professionally accepted ideas of correction and reform and may utilize in part
objective, performance-based criteria and risk and needs assessment
information; however, nothing herein contained shall preclude the board from
utilizing its present regulations in conjunction with other factors involved that
would relate to the inmate's needs and the safety of the public.
The board shall insure that all sentenced felons who have longer than ninety (90)
days to serve in state penal institutions, halfway houses, and county jails are
considered for parole not less than sixty (60) days prior to their parole eligibility
date, and the Department of Corrections shall provide the necessary assistance and
information to the board in order for it to conduct timely parole reviews.
In addition to or in conjunction with each hearing conducted under subsection (2) of
this section for any prisoner convicted of a Class A, B, or C felony and prior to the
granting of a parole to any such prisoner, the parole board shall conduct a hearing of
which the following persons shall receive not less than forty-five (45) nor more than
ninety (90) days' notice: the Commonwealth's attorney who shall notify the sheriff
of every county and the chief of police of every city and county in which the
prisoner committed any Class A, B, or C felony for which he or she is imprisoned,
and all identified victims of the crimes or the next of kin of any victim who is
deceased. Notice to the Commonwealth's attorney shall be by mail, fax, or
electronic means at the discretion of the board, and shall be in a manner that ensures
receipt at the Commonwealth attorney's business office. Notices received by chiefs
of police and sheriffs shall be posted in a conspicuous location where police
employed by the department may see it. Notices shall be posted in a manner and at a
time that will allow officers to make comment thereon to the Parole Board. Notice
to victims or their next of kin shall be made, for prisoners incarcerated prior to July
15, 1986, by mail, fax, or electronic means at the discretion of the board, and shall
be in a manner that ensures receipt by the Commonwealth's attorney, who shall
forward the notice promptly to the victims or their next of kin at their last known
address. For prisoners incarcerated on or after July 15, 1986, notice to the victims or
their next of kin shall be by mail from the Parole Board to their last known address
as provided by the Commonwealth's attorney to the Parole Board at the time of
incarceration of the prisoner. Notice to the victim or the next of kin of subsequent
considerations for parole after the initial consideration shall not be sent if the victim
or the next of kin gives notice to the board that he or she no longer wants to receive
such notices. The notice shall include the time, date, and place of the hearing
provided for in this subsection, and the name and address of a person to write if the
recipient of the notice desires to attend the hearing or to submit written comments.
Persons receiving notice as provided for in subsection (5) of this section may
submit comments, in person or in writing, to the board upon all issues relating to the
parole of the prisoner. The board shall read and consider all comments prior to
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
(13)
making its parole decision, if they are received by the board not less than seven (7)
days before the date for the hearing. The board shall retain all comments in the
prisoner's permanent Parole Board file, and shall consider them in conjunction with
any subsequent parole decisions affecting the prisoner. In addition to officers listed
in subsection (5) of this section, the crime victims or the next of kin of any victim
who is deceased or who is disabled and cannot attend the hearing or the parent or
legal guardian of any victim who is a minor may attend the hearing provided for in
subsection (5) of this section and present oral and written comments upon all issues
relating to the parole of the prisoner, if they have advised the board, in writing
received by the board not less than seven (7) days prior to the date set for the
hearing, of their intention to attend the hearing. The board shall receive and
consider all comments, shall make a record of them which it shall retain in the
prisoner's permanent Parole Board file, and shall consider them in conjunction with
any subsequent parole decision affecting the prisoner. Persons appearing before the
Parole Board pursuant to this subsection may elect to make their presentations
outside of the presence of the prisoner.
Victims of Class D felonies may submit comments in person or in writing to the
board upon all issues relating to the parole of a prisoner.
Any hearing provided for in subsections (5), (6), and (7) of this section shall be
open to the public unless the persons having a right to appear before the board as
specified in those subsections request closure of hearing for reasons of personal
safety, in which event the hearing shall be closed. The time, date, and location of
closed hearings shall not be disclosed to the public.
Except as specifically set forth in this section, nothing in this section shall be
deemed to expand or abridge any existing rights of persons to contact and
communicate with the Parole Board or any of its members, agents, or employees.
The unintentional failure by the Parole Board, sheriff, chief of police, or any of its
members, agents, or employees or by a Commonwealth's attorney or any of his or
her agents or employees to comply with any of the provisions of subsections (5),
(6), and (8) of this section shall not affect the validity of any parole decision or give
rise to any right or cause of action by the crime victim, the prisoner, or any other
person.
No eligible sexual offender within the meaning of KRS 197.400 to 197.440 shall be
granted parole unless he or she has successfully completed the Sexual Offender
Treatment Program.
Any prisoner who is granted parole after completion of the Sexual Offender
Treatment Program shall be required, as a condition of his or her parole, to
participate in regular treatment in a mental health program approved or operated by
the Department of Corrections.
When the board grants parole contingent upon completion of a program, the
commissioner, or his or her designee, shall determine the most appropriate
placement in a program operated by the department or a residential or nonresidential
program within the community approved by the department. If the department
releases a parolee to a nonresidential program, the department shall release the
parolee only if he or she will have appropriate community housing pursuant to KRS
439.3408.
(14) If the parole board does not grant parole to a prisoner, the maximum deferment for a
prisoner convicted of a non-violent, non-sexual Class C or Class D felony shall be
twenty-four (24) months. For all other prisoners who are eligible for parole:
(a) No parole deferment greater than five (5) years shall be ordered unless
approved by a majority vote of the full board; and
(b) No deferment shall exceed ten (10) years, except for life sentences.
(15) When an order for parole is issued, it shall recite the conditions thereof.
Effective: June 8, 2011
History: Amended 2011 Ky. Acts ch. 2, sec. 32, effective June 8, 2011. -- Repealed and
reenacted 2010 Ky. Acts ch. 107, sec. 5, effective July 15, 2010. -- Amended 2009
Ky. Acts ch. 57, sec. 1, effective June 25, 2009. -- Amended 2008 Ky. Acts ch. 158,
sec. 2, effective July 1, 2008. -- Amended 2005 Ky. Acts ch. 129, sec. 2, effective
March 18, 2005. -- Amended 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 179, sec. 1, effective July 15, 2002;
and ch. 232, sec. 1, effective July 15, 2002. -- Amended 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 541,
sec. 2, effective July 15, 1998. -- Amended 1994 Ky. Acts ch. 179, sec. 2, effective
April 4, 1994. – Amended 1992 Ky. Acts ch. 211, sec. 97, effective July 14, 1992. -Amended 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 435, sec. 1, effective July 13, 1990. -- Amended 1986
Ky. Acts ch. 133, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1986; ch. 382, sec. 1, effective July 15,
1986; and ch. 478, sec. 6, effective July 15, 1986. -- Amended 1982 Ky. Acts
ch. 344, sec. 44, effective July 15, 1982. -- Amended 1978 Ky. Acts ch. 259, sec. 2,
effective June 17, 1978. -- Amended 1976 Ky. Acts ch. 190, sec. 1. -- Amended 1974
Ky. Acts ch. 74, Art. V, sec. 24(15). -- Amended 1963 (2nd Extra. Sess.) Ky. Acts
ch. 4, sec. 6. -- Created 1956 Ky. Acts ch. 101, sec. 10, effective May 18, 1956.
Legislative Research Commission Note (7/15/2010). 2008 Ky. Acts ch. 107, sec. 12,
provides that "The intent of the General Assembly in repealing and reenacting KRS
439.320, 439.340, and 532.200 in Sections 4, 5, and 10 of this Act is to affirm the
amendments made to these sections in 2008 Ky. Acts ch. 158. The specific textual
provisions of Sections 4, 5, and 10 of this Act which reflect amendments made to
those sections by 2008 Ky. Acts ch. 158 shall be deemed effective as of April 24,
2008, and those provisions are hereby made expressly retroactive to that date, with
the remainder of the text from those sections being unaffected by the provisions of
this section." This statute is affected by that language.
2010-2012 Budget Reference. See State/Executive Branch Budget, 2010 (1st Extra.
Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 1, Pt. I, H, 5, c, (3) at 45.
2010-2012 Budget Reference. See State/Executive Branch Budget, 2010 (1st Extra.
Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 1, Pt. I, H, 5, c, (5) at 46.
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