Translate

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

**UPDATE SB 224, (Elderly Parole Hearing) - withdrawn - potential 3 Strikes Law conflicts

Sen. Carol Liu (Democrat), author of Senate Bill 224 (SB224), (Elderly Parole Hearing) that would codify and possibly expand considerations of elderly parole, has withdrawn the Bill from consideration for this session. Liu’s office and Bill supporters indicate discussions on possible changes to the Bill with an eye to reintroduction of the legislation will begin in January 2016.

Summary of original SB224:
The original draft of the Senate Bill required the Board of Parole Hearings  (BPH) to conduct a ELDERLY PAROLE HEARING for offenders sentence to State prison who have reached 50 years of age and have been incarcerated 15 years or more. NOTE: This would have been an expansion from the existing BPH regulation that was established in October 2014 to allow 60 yrs old inmates who have been incarcerated 25 years or more to go to a Elderly Parole Hearing.


Update***:   

SB 224 has been withdrawn from consideration for this session. Assessment by the Legislative Analyst’s Office  classified SB 224 in the category of Bills that would require a 2/3 majority vote on the legislative floor, a threshold Sen. Liu’s office felt could not be met. That concern lead to the bill being withdrawn from consideration for this session.

Prior to the inactivation of SB 224 the bill had been amended from its original framework that would have applied the considerations of elderly parole to those prisoners aged 50 years and over who had served 15 years to a higher standard, affecting the current qualified inmates 60 years and over who had served 25 years or more. The number of prisoners potentially impacted by the original age and time factors proposed (50/15) would have numbered about 6,000.


In 2014 the BPH scheduled over 4,000 hearings, so it also became apparent that such an influx of new hearings would have had a significant impact on the BPH’s already full parole hearing schedule. Ripples from the increased hearing numbers would also have had a significant impact on the availability of attorneys, hearing rooms, CRA evaluations and other requirements of hearings.

Reassessment of the Bill’s language will seek to navigate SB 224 away from conflict with the provisions of 3 Strikes, would then remove the need for a 2/3 majority floor vote for passage.

*** NOTE:  This SB224 update provided by Venessa at LSA   LIFE SUPPORT ALLIANCE

NEW ANNOUNCEMENT ---- UPCOMING LIFER PICNIC - join LSA as they HOST the reunion
  • What:      LIFER PICNIC      (hosted by: LSA at 916-743-1654)
      
    • When:     Saturday, September 19 from 11:30 AM to 4:00 PM
===============================================================

If you want to retain an Attorney with ELDERLY Parole Hearing experience (attorney Letarte over 50 years old herself and has empathy for her clients)  please contact ATTORNEY DIANE LETARTE via her website or     email at Attorney Letarte's office