2019 Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 439 - Probation and parole 439.340 Parole of prisoners confined in adult penal or correctional institutions, halfway houses, and reentry centers.
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439.340
Parole of prisoners confined in adult penal or correctional
institutions, halfway houses, and reentry centers.
(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, reentry centers,
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
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
(13)
to the parole of the prisoner. The board shall read and consider all comments
prior to 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 29, 2017
History: Amended 2017 Ky. Acts ch. 158, sec. 91, effective June 29, 2017. -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.
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