Introduced Version
HOUSE BILL No. 1354
_____
DIGEST OF INTRODUCED BILL
Citations Affected: IC 11-13-9-2; IC 35-38-1-17.
Synopsis: Release from department of correction and parole.
Establishes an additional sentencing modification procedure for certain
individuals and requires that the department of correction annually
review inmate records and transmit certain information to specified
persons.
Effective: July 1, 2024.
Morris, McNamara, Judy
January 10, 2024, read first time and referred to Committee on Courts and Criminal Code.
2024 IN 1354—LS 7014/DI 151 Introduced
Second Regular Session of the 123rd General Assembly (2024)
PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana
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a new provision to the Indiana Code or the Indiana Constitution.
Conflict reconciliation: Text in a statute in this style type or this style type reconciles conflicts
between statutes enacted by the 2023 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
HOUSE BILL No. 1354
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
criminal law and procedure.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
1 SECTION 1. IC 11-13-9-2, AS AMENDED BY P.L.74-2015,
2 SECTION 13, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
3 JULY 1, 2024]: Sec. 2. (a) As used in this section, the years of an
4 inmate's confinement are "consecutive" if:
5 (1) the inmate has remained in the continuous custody of the
6 department for the requisite length of time; or
7 (2) the inmate would have remained in the continuous custody of
8 the department for the requisite length of time, but:
9 (A) was released from the custody of the department on the
10 basis of an erroneous court order; and
11 (B) returned to the custody of the department not later than
12 seventy-two (72) hours after the erroneous court order was
13 rescinded.
14 (b) Notwithstanding any other law, as soon as practicable after an
15 inmate has been confined to the custody of the department for:
16 (1) twenty-five (25) consecutive years;
17 (2) twenty-four (24) consecutive years if the inmate has received
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1 one (1) year of educational credit under IC 35-50-6-3.3;
2 (3) twenty-three (23) consecutive years if the inmate has received
3 two (2) years of educational credit under IC 35-50-6-3.3;
4 (4) twenty-two (22) consecutive years if the inmate has received
5 three (3) years of educational credit under IC 35-50-6-3.3; or
6 (5) twenty-one (21) consecutive years if the inmate has received
7 four (4) years of educational credit under IC 35-50-6-3.3;
8 the department shall identify the inmate to the parole board and provide
9 the parole board with the inmate's offender progress report.
10 (c) The department shall annually:
11 (1) review the inmate population of the department's facilities
12 and programs in accordance with IC 35-38-1-17(p);
13 (2) before November 1 of each year, transmit to the Indiana
14 criminal justice institute for use in the institute's report under
15 IC 5-2-6-24 the:
16 (A) number of inmates described in IC 35-38-1-17(d) and
17 not disqualified under IC 35-38-1-17(c); and
18 (B) number of inmates whose sentence was modified by the
19 sentencing court; and
20 (3) in the case of an eligible inmate who meets the criteria of
21 IC 35-38-1-17(o):
22 (A) not later than fourteen (14) days after the diagnosis,
23 notify the inmate and the inmate's emergency contact and
24 next of kin that they may prepare and submit on the
25 inmate's behalf a request for a sentence modification, and
26 provide a copy of the inmate's offender progress report to
27 the notified individuals; and
28 (B) not later than thirty (30) days after the date of
29 diagnosis, provide the defendant's emergency contact and
30 next of kin with an opportunity to visit the defendant in
31 person, virtually, or telephonically.
32 (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an offender
33 progress report must include a complete summary of all
34 rehabilitative:
35 (1) programs;
36 (2) work;
37 (3) education; and
38 (4) certifications;
39 completed by an inmate during the inmate's confinement in the
40 custody of the department.
41 (e) The department shall provide an inmate with a copy of the
42 inmate's offender progress report at least sixty (60) days before
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1 submitting the offender progress report to the parole board under
2 this section.
3 (f) The department shall release an offender progress report to
4 the supervising authority tasked with supervising an inmate
5 released from the custody of the department to parole, probation,
6 or a community transition program.
7 SECTION 2. IC 35-38-1-17, AS AMENDED BY P.L.115-2023,
8 SECTION 11, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
9 JULY 1, 2024]: Sec. 17. (a) Notwithstanding IC 1-1-5.5-21, this section
10 applies to a person who:
11 (1) commits an offense; or
12 (2) is sentenced;
13 before July 1, 2014.
14 (b) This section does not apply to a credit restricted felon.
15 (c) Except as provided in subsections (k), and (m), and (o), this
16 section does not apply to a violent criminal.
17 (d) As used in this section, "violent criminal" means a person
18 convicted of any of the following offenses:
19 (1) Murder (IC 35-42-1-1).
20 (2) Attempted murder (IC 35-41-5-1).
21 (3) Voluntary manslaughter (IC 35-42-1-3).
22 (4) Involuntary manslaughter (IC 35-42-1-4).
23 (5) Reckless homicide (IC 35-42-1-5).
24 (6) Aggravated battery (IC 35-42-2-1.5).
25 (7) Kidnapping (IC 35-42-3-2).
26 (8) Rape (IC 35-42-4-1).
27 (9) Criminal deviate conduct (IC 35-42-4-2) (before its repeal).
28 (10) Child molesting (IC 35-42-4-3).
29 (11) Sexual misconduct with a minor as a Class A felony under
30 IC 35-42-4-9(a)(2) or a Class B felony under IC 35-42-4-9(b)(2)
31 (for a crime committed before July 1, 2014) or sexual misconduct
32 with a minor as a Level 1 felony under IC 35-42-4-9(a)(2) or a
33 Level 2 felony under IC 35-42-4-9(b)(2) (for a crime committed
34 after June 30, 2014).
35 (12) Robbery as a Class A felony or a Class B felony (IC
36 35-42-5-1) (for a crime committed before July 1, 2014) or robbery
37 as a Level 2 felony or a Level 3 felony (IC 35-42-5-1) (for a crime
38 committed after June 30, 2014).
39 (13) Burglary as Class A felony or a Class B felony (IC
40 35-43-2-1) (for a crime committed before July 1, 2014) or
41 burglary as a Level 1 felony, Level 2 felony, Level 3 felony, or
42 Level 4 felony (IC 35-43-2-1) (for a crime committed after June
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1 30, 2014).
2 (14) Unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon
3 (IC 35-47-4-5).
4 (e) At any time after:
5 (1) a convicted person begins serving the person's sentence; and
6 (2) the court obtains a report from the department of correction
7 concerning the convicted person's conduct while imprisoned;
8 the court may reduce or suspend the sentence and impose a sentence
9 that the court was authorized to impose at the time of sentencing,
10 except as provided in subsection (o). However, if the convicted
11 person was sentenced under the terms of a plea agreement, the court
12 may not, without the consent of the prosecuting attorney, reduce or
13 suspend the sentence and impose a sentence not authorized by the plea
14 agreement. The court must incorporate its reasons in the record.
15 (f) If the court sets a hearing on a petition under this section, the
16 court must give notice to the prosecuting attorney and the prosecuting
17 attorney must give notice to the victim (as defined in IC 35-31.5-2-348)
18 of the crime for which the convicted person is serving the sentence.
19 (g) The court may suspend a sentence for a felony under this section
20 only if suspension is permitted under IC 35-50-2-2.2.
21 (h) The court may deny a request to suspend or reduce a sentence
22 under this section without making written findings and conclusions.
23 (i) The court is not required to conduct a hearing before reducing or
24 suspending a sentence under this section if:
25 (1) the prosecuting attorney has filed with the court an agreement
26 of the reduction or suspension of the sentence; and
27 (2) the convicted person has filed with the court a waiver of the
28 right to be present when the order to reduce or suspend the
29 sentence is considered.
30 (j) This subsection applies only to a convicted person who is not a
31 violent criminal. A convicted person who is not a violent criminal may
32 file a petition for sentence modification under this section:
33 (1) not more than one (1) time in any three hundred sixty-five
34 (365) day period; and
35 (2) a maximum of two (2) times during any consecutive period of
36 incarceration;
37 without the consent of the prosecuting attorney.
38 (k) This subsection applies to a convicted person who is a violent
39 criminal. Except as provided in subsection (n), a convicted person who
40 is a violent criminal may, not later than three hundred sixty-five (365)
41 days from the date of sentencing, file one (1) petition for sentence
42 modification under this section without the consent of the prosecuting
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1 attorney. After the elapse of the three hundred sixty-five (365) day
2 period, a violent criminal may not file a petition for sentence
3 modification without the consent of the prosecuting attorney.
4 (l) A person may not waive the right to sentence modification under
5 this section as part of a plea agreement. Any purported waiver of the
6 right to sentence modification under this section in a plea agreement is
7 invalid and unenforceable as against public policy. This subsection
8 does not prohibit the finding of a waiver of the right to:
9 (1) have a court modify a sentence and impose a sentence not
10 authorized by the plea agreement, as described under subsection
11 (e); or
12 (2) sentence modification for any other reason, including failure
13 to comply with the provisions of this section.
14 (m) Notwithstanding subsection (k), a person who commits an
15 offense after June 30, 2014, and before May 15, 2015, may file one (1)
16 petition for sentence modification without the consent of the
17 prosecuting attorney, even if the person has previously filed a petition
18 for sentence modification.
19 (n) A person sentenced in a criminal court having jurisdiction over
20 an offense committed when the person was less than eighteen (18)
21 years of age may file an additional petition for sentence modification
22 under this section without the consent of the prosecuting attorney if the
23 person has served at least:
24 (1) fifteen (15) years of the person's sentence, if the person is not
25 serving a sentence for murder; or
26 (2) twenty (20) years of the person's sentence, if the person is
27 serving a sentence for murder.
28 The time periods described in this subsection are computed on the
29 basis of time actually served and do not include any reduction applied
30 for good time credit or educational credit time.
31 (o) Notwithstanding subsections (j) and (k), a person may file a
32 petition for a suspension or reduction of the person's sentence
33 without the consent of the prosecuting attorney, even if the person
34 has previously filed a petition for sentence modification, under this
35 section if:
36 (1) a physician employed or contracted by the department of
37 correction determines that a person:
38 (A) has a terminal illness with a life expectancy of eighteen
39 (18) months or less, or a disease or condition with an end
40 of life trajectory, including metastatic solid tumor cancer,
41 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), end-stage organ
42 disease, and advanced end-stage dementia; or
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1 (B) has an incurable, progressive illness or has suffered a
2 debilitating injury from which the person will not recover.
3 A person qualifies under this clause if the person:
4 (i) is unable to complete basic activities of daily living
5 and is totally confined to a bed or chair; or
6 (ii) has limited ability for self-care and is confined to a
7 bed or chair for more than fifty percent (50%) of the
8 person's waking hours; or
9 (2) the person is at least sixty-five (65) years of age, is in the
10 custody of the department of correction for an offense
11 committed before the person was sixty (60) years of age, and
12 has served:
13 (A) at least:
14 (i) ten (10) years in the custody of the department of
15 correction; or
16 (ii) fifty percent (50%) of the sentence imposed;
17 whichever is less, if the person is suffering from chronic or
18 serious medical conditions related to the aging process,
19 deteriorating mental or physical health that has
20 substantially diminished the person's ability to function in
21 a correctional facility and for which correctional treatment
22 promises no substantial improvement to the person's
23 physical or mental condition; or
24 (B) at least:
25 (i) ten (10) years in the custody of the department of
26 correction; or
27 (ii) seventy-five percent (75%) of the sentence imposed;
28 whichever is less.
29 A person may only petition for a modification one (1) time under
30 this subsection without the consent of the prosecuting attorney,
31 unless there is demonstrable evidence of a change in the person's
32 medical condition that was not available at the time the person
33 filed the person's last petition. Under this subsection, the court may
34 reduce or suspend the sentence below a sentence that the court was
35 authorized to impose at the time of sentencing with the consent of
36 the prosecuting attorney. However, if the person was sentenced
37 under the terms of a plea agreement, the court may not, without
38 the consent of the prosecuting attorney, reduce or suspend the
39 sentence and impose a sentence not authorized by the plea
40 agreement. In making this determination, the court must consider
41 the suitability of the person's reentry plans if the sentence is
42 modified, including proof that the person will have suitable living
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1 quarters if discharged from the department and will receive the
2 medical care or treatment required. The court must incorporate its
3 reasons in the record.
4 (p) The department of correction shall, at least annually, review
5 the inmate population of the department's facilities and programs
6 to determine the identities of any inmates described in subsection
7 (o) and not disqualified under subsection (b) and notify the
8 identified inmate. Not later than thirty (30) days from the
9 identification of an appropriate inmate, the department shall,
10 unless otherwise requested by the inmate, notify:
11 (1) the public defender or privately retained counsel;
12 (2) the inmate's emergency contact or next of kin; and
13 (3) the prosecutor in the county of conviction;
14 of the inmate's eligibility for a sentence modification under this
15 section.
16 (q) Not later than thirty (30) days after the filing of a petition
17 under subsection (o), the court shall:
18 (1) grant the request to suspend or reduce a sentence;
19 (2) deny the request without written findings and conclusions;
20 or
21 (3) hold a hearing on the matter.
22 The court is not required to conduct a hearing before reducing or
23 suspending a sentence under subsection (i).
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