2011 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 15 — Criminal procedure
RS 15:574.22 — Louisiana risk review panel

§574.22. Louisiana Risk Review Panel

A. The Louisiana Risk Review Panel is hereby created within the Department of Public Safety and Corrections. The secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections may create not more than three risk review panels.

B. Each panel shall consist of five members in accordance with the following provisions:

(1) One member shall be a board certified psychologist. This member shall be selected, on a rotating basis, from a pool of nine psychologists authorized and approved by the secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections.

(2) One member shall be the warden, or in his absence the deputy warden, of the institution where the offender is incarcerated.

(3) One member shall be the secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, or his designee, who shall be chairman.

(4) A retired judge with criminal law experience, who shall be appointed by the governor.

(5) A probation or parole officer with a minimum of ten years experience, who shall be appointed by the governor.

C. A majority of the members of each panel shall constitute a quorum. All official actions of the panel shall require the affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the panel.

D. Members, other than the secretary, warden, their designees, or psychologists who are employees of the department, may receive a per diem for each day spent in actual attendance of meetings of the panel. The amount of the per diem shall be fixed by the secretary in an amount not to exceed forty dollars per hour. Members may also receive a mileage allowance for mileage traveled in attending meetings. The mileage allowance shall be fixed by the panel in an amount not to exceed the mileage rate for state employees.

E. Each panel shall meet on the call of each chairman or upon the request of any three members.

F. The panels shall review, notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 15:574.12, presentence reports, prison records, medical and psychological records, information and data gathered by the staffs of the Board of Pardons and the Board of Parole, information provided by the convicted person, the district attorney, the assistant district attorney, and any other information obtained by the boards or the Department of Public Safety and Corrections.

G. The panel shall evaluate the risk of danger to society which each person who has been convicted of a crime and who is confined in a prison facility of any kind, may present if released from confinement. However, the following persons shall not be eligible for review by the Risk Review Panel:

(1) A person convicted of a crime defined or enumerated as a crime of violence in R.S. 14:2(B).

(2) A person convicted of a sex offense as defined in R.S. 15:540 et seq. when the victim is under the age of eighteen at the time of commission of the offense.

(3) A person convicted of a violation of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law except that the following persons shall be evaluated by the panel:

(a) A person convicted of possession as defined in R.S. 40:966(C), 967(C), 968(C), 969(C), or 970(C).

(b) A person convicted of distribution or possession with the intent to distribute cocaine where the offense of conviction involves less than twenty-eight grams of cocaine.

(c) A person convicted of distribution or possession with the intent to distribute marijuana where the offense of conviction involves less than one pound of marijuana.

(d) A person sentenced under any other violation of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law who has served the mandatory minimum sentence in actual custody for the offense, or one-half of the sentence imposed, whichever is less.

(e) A person sentenced to a term of life imprisonment for a violation of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law who has served at least seven years of the term of imprisonment in actual custody. However, the provisions of this Subparagraph shall not apply to any person who has been convicted of a sex offense as provided for in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection or to any person who has been sentenced as a habitual offender under R.S. 15:529.1 where one or more of the crimes for which the person was convicted and sentenced under R.S. 15:529.1 is a crime of violence defined or enumerated in R.S. 14:2(B) as provided for in Paragraph (4) of this Subsection.

(4) A person sentenced as a habitual offender under R.S. 15:529.1 where one or more of the crimes for which the person was convicted and sentenced under R.S. 15:529.1 is a crime of violence defined or enumerated in R.S. 14:2(B).

H. The secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, on or before January 1, 2002, shall adopt and promulgate rules, regulations, and procedures under which the panels shall perform their duties. The rules, regulations, and procedures shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following:

(1) The requirements necessary for a convicted person to apply and be considered for risk review, the type of crime committed, the age of the convicted person, the time served in confinement, the prison record of the convicted person, the damage or injury occasioned by the crime committed, any resources available to the person in the event of release, and any other criteria or information which the panel may deem to be advisable or helpful in the performance of its duty.

(2) The psychological evaluations or other evaluations which shall be utilized in order for the panel to make the risk evaluation required by this Section.

(3) The manner in which a victim of the crime or crimes committed by the convicted person may provide information to the panel.

(4) The procedure by which persons who are to be evaluated may apply for such risk evaluation.

(5) The frequency with which such persons may apply for risk evaluation.

(6) The procedure by which risk evaluations shall be conducted, whether by record review only, by hearing only, or by both record review and hearing.

(7) The manner in which a recommendation of the panel shall be determined, reported, and disseminated.

I. When a panel has determined by a preponderance of the evidence that a person will not present a risk of danger to society if released from confinement, the panel may recommend that the person be considered for clemency by the Board of Pardons or the panel may recommend that the person be considered for parole by the Board of Parole. The panel may also recommend to the appropriate board such conditions for clemency or parole as it may deem advisable. Any recommendation of the panel shall not be binding on the Board of Pardons or the Board of Parole.

Acts 2001, No. 403, §2, eff. June 15, 2001; Acts 2003, No. 1231, §1; Acts 2005, No. 67, §1; Acts 2009, No. 103, §1.