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2019 Utah Code
Title 77 - Utah Code of Criminal Procedure
Chapter 27 - Pardons and Parole
Section 5 - Board of Pardons and Parole authority.
Universal Citation: UT Code § 77-27-5 (2019)
Effective 5/14/2019
77-27-5. Board of Pardons and Parole authority.
Amended by Chapter 148, 2019 General Session
77-27-5. Board of Pardons and Parole authority.
- (1)
- (a) The Board of Pardons and Parole shall determine by majority decision when and under what conditions any convictions, except for treason or impeachment, may be pardoned or commuted, subject to this chapter and other laws of the state.
- (b) The Board of Pardons and Parole shall determine by majority decision when and under what conditions, subject to this chapter and other laws of the state, individuals committed to serve sentences at penal or correctional facilities that are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections, except treason or impeachment convictions or as otherwise limited by law, may be released upon parole, ordered to pay restitution, or have their fines, forfeitures, or restitution remitted, or their sentences terminated.
- (c) The board may sit together or in panels to conduct hearings. The chair shall appoint members to the panels in any combination and in accordance with rules made in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, by the board. The chair may participate on any panel and when doing so is chair of the panel. The chair of the board may designate the chair for any other panel.
- (d) No restitution may be ordered, no fine, forfeiture, or restitution remitted, no parole, pardon, or commutation granted or sentence terminated, except after a full hearing before the board or the board's appointed examiner in open session. Any action taken under this subsection other than by a majority of the board shall be affirmed by a majority of the board.
- (e) A commutation or pardon may be granted only after a full hearing before the board.
- (f) The board may determine restitution as provided in Section 77-27-6 and Subsection 77-38a-302(5)(d)(iii)(A).
- (2)
- (a) In the case of any hearings, timely prior notice of the time and location of the hearing shall be given to the offender.
- (b) The county or district attorney's office responsible for prosecution of the case, the sentencing court, and law enforcement officials responsible for the defendant's arrest and conviction shall be notified of any board hearings through the board's website.
- (c) Whenever possible, the victim or the victim's representative, if designated, shall be notified of original hearings and any hearing after that if notification is requested and current contact information has been provided to the board.
- (d) Notice to the victim or the victim's representative shall include information provided in Section 77-27-9.5, and any related rules made by the board under that section. This information shall be provided in terms that are reasonable for the lay person to understand.
- (3) Decisions of the board in cases involving paroles, pardons, commutations or terminations of sentence, restitution, or remission of fines or forfeitures are final and are not subject to judicial review. Nothing in this section prevents the obtaining or enforcement of a civil judgment, including restitution as provided in Section 77-27-6.
- (4) This chapter may not be construed as a denial of or limitation of the governor's power to grant respite or reprieves in all cases of convictions for offenses against the state, except treason or conviction on impeachment. However, respites or reprieves may not extend beyond the next session of the Board of Pardons and Parole and the board, at that session, shall continue or terminate the respite or reprieve, or it may commute the punishment, or pardon the offense as provided. In the case of conviction for treason, the governor may suspend execution of the sentence until the case is reported to the Legislature at its next session. The Legislature shall then either pardon or commute the sentence, or direct its execution.
- (5) In determining when, where, and under what conditions an offender serving a sentence may be paroled, pardoned, have restitution ordered, or have the offender's fines or forfeitures remitted, or the offender's sentence commuted or terminated, the board shall:
- (a) consider whether the offender has made or is prepared to make restitution as ascertained in accordance with the standards and procedures of Section 77-38a-302, as a condition of any parole, pardon, remission of fines or forfeitures, or commutation or termination of sentence; and
- (b) develop and use a list of criteria for making determinations under this Subsection (5).
- (6) In determining whether parole may be terminated, the board shall consider:
- (a) the offense committed by the parolee; and
- (b) the parole period as provided in Section 76-3-202, and in accordance with Section 77-27-13.
- (7) For offenders placed on parole after December 31, 2018, the board shall terminate parole in accordance with the supervision length guidelines established by the Utah Sentencing Commission under Section 63M-7-404, to the extent the guidelines are consistent with the requirements of the law.
Amended by Chapter 148, 2019 General Session
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