2012 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 54 - Criminal Procedure
Chapter 961 - Trial and Proceedings After Conviction
Section 54-125e - Special parole. Conditions. Duration. Violation. Hearing. Disposition.

(a) Any person convicted of a crime committed on or after October 1, 1998, who received a definite sentence of more than two years followed by a period of special parole shall, at the expiration of the maximum term or terms of imprisonment imposed by the court, be automatically transferred to the jurisdiction of the chairperson of the Board of Pardons and Paroles or, if such person has previously been released on parole pursuant to subsection (a) of section 54-125a or section 54-131a, remain under the jurisdiction of said chairperson until the expiration of the period of special parole imposed by the court. The Department of Correction shall be responsible for the supervision of any person transferred to the jurisdiction of the chairperson of the Board of Pardons and Paroles under this section during such person’s period of special parole.

(b) When sentencing a person to a period of special parole, the court may recommend that such person comply with any or all of the requirements of subsection (a) of section 53a-30. The court shall cause a copy of any such recommendation to be delivered to such person and to the Department of Correction. The Board of Pardons and Paroles may require that such person comply with the requirements of subsection (a) of section 53a-30 which the court recommended. Any person sentenced to a period of special parole shall also be subject to such rules and conditions as may be established by the Board of Pardons and Paroles or its chairperson pursuant to section 54-126.

(c) The period of special parole shall be not less than one year or more than ten years, except that such period may be for more than ten years for a person convicted of a violation of subdivision (2) of section 53-21 of the general statutes in effect prior to October 1, 2000, subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 53-21 or section 53a-70, 53a-70a, 53a-70b, 53a-71, 53a-72a or 53a-72b or sentenced as a persistent dangerous felony offender pursuant to subsection (h) of section 53a-40 or as a persistent serious felony offender pursuant to subsection (j) of section 53a-40.

(d) Whenever a parolee has, in the judgment of such parolee’s parole officer, violated the conditions of his or her special parole, the board shall cause the parolee to be brought before it without unnecessary delay for a hearing on the violation charges. At such hearing, the parolee shall be informed of the manner in which such parolee is alleged to have violated the conditions of such parolee’s special parole and shall be advised by the employee of the board conducting the hearing of such parolee’s due process rights.

(e) If such violation is established, the board may: (1) Continue the period of special parole; (2) modify or enlarge the conditions of special parole; or (3) revoke the sentence of special parole.

(f) If the board revokes special parole for a parolee, the chairperson may issue a mittimus for the commitment of such parolee to a correctional institution for any period not to exceed the unexpired portion of the period of special parole.

(g) Whenever special parole has been revoked for a parolee, the board may, at any time during the unexpired portion of the period of special parole, allow the parolee to be released again on special parole without court order.

(P.A. 98-234, S. 3; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 99-2, S. 52; P.A. 01-84, S. 21, 26; P.A. 04-234, S. 2, 5; P.A. 05-84, S. 3; 05-288, S. 188; P.A. 07-143, S. 14; 07-217, S. 196.)

History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 99-2 amended Subsec. (c) to provide that the period of special parole for the specified offenses “may be for more than ten years” rather than “shall be not less than ten years nor more than thirty-five years” and to make technical changes in statutory references; P.A. 01-84 amended Subsec. (c) to replace reference to “a violation of subdivision (2) of section 53-21” with “a violation of subdivision (2) of section 53-21 of the general statutes in effect prior to October 1, 2000,” and include a violation of “subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 53-21”, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 04-234 replaced “chairman” with “chairperson” where appearing, amended Subsec. (a) to require the person be “automatically” transferred to the jurisdiction of the chairperson, delete provision that the person is transferred “from the custody of the Commissioner of Correction” and add provision requiring that Department of Correction be responsible for supervision of any person transferred to the jurisdiction of the chairperson during such person’s period of special parole, added Subsec. (d) re a hearing on an alleged violation of the conditions of a parolee’s special parole, added Subsec. (e) re authorized dispositions by the board upon establishing a violation, added Subsec. (f) re authority of the chairperson to issue a mittimus upon revocation of special parole and added Subsec. (g) re authority of the board to release again on special parole a parolee whose special parole has been revoked, effective June 8, 2004, and replaced Board of Parole with Board of Pardons and Paroles, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 05-84 amended Subsec. (e)(1) to replace “sentence of special parole” with “period of special parole”; P.A. 05-288 made technical changes in Subsec. (c), effective July 13, 2005; P.A. 07-143 amended Subsec. (b) to add provisions authorizing court to order compliance with any or all of the requirements of Sec. 53a-30(a), requiring court to cause a copy of the order to be delivered to the person and Department of Correction and authorizing Board of Pardons and Paroles to require compliance with any or all of the requirements of Sec. 53a-30(a) which court could have imposed and are not inconsistent with any condition actually imposed by court; P.A. 07-217 amended Subsec. (b) to replace provision that court may “as a condition of the sentence, order such person to comply” with any or all of requirements of Sec. 53a-30(a) with provision re court may “recommend that such person comply” with such requirements, require delivery of copy of “recommendation”, rather than copy of “order”, and authorize board to require compliance with “the requirements of subsection (a) of section 53a-30 which the court recommended”, rather than “any or all of the requirements of subsection (a) of section 53a-30 which the court could have imposed and which are not inconsistent with any condition actually imposed by the court”.

Regardless of whether a person has been convicted of one offense or multiple offenses, the legislature has used the phrase “period of special parole” to refer to that duration of time in which a person is transferred to the jurisdiction of the chairperson of the Board of Pardons and Paroles for supervision. 133 CA 140.

Subsec. (c):

With respect to 1999 revision, when sentencing provisions of Sec. 54-128(c) and Subsec. conflict, legislature intended the maximum statutory limit in Sec. 54-128(c) to control; defendant’s sentence of ten years of imprisonment followed by ten years of special parole violated Sec. 54-128(c) and was an illegal sentence because total length of terms of imprisonment and special parole combined exceeded maximum term of imprisonment authorized for sexual assault in the second degree by Sec. 53a-35a(6) and Sec. 53a-71(b). 279 C. 527. Subsec. can be given effect only to the extent that it does not conflict with Sec. 54-128(c). 292 C. 417.

Court exceeded its authority by sentencing defendant to sixteen years of special parole, beyond the ten year maximum, where defendant had not been convicted of one of the enumerated exceptions for which a longer period of special parole may be imposed. 133 CA 140.