HLS 12RS-598 ORIGINAL
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are additions.
Regular Session, 2012
HOUSE BILL NO. 344
BY REPRESENTATIVE LOPINTO
JUVENILE PROCEDURE: Provides with respect to juvenile parole eligibility
AN ACT1
To amend and reenact R.S. 15:574.4(B), relative to juvenile parole eligibility; to provide2
with respect to juvenile parole eligibility; to provide for parole eligibility for certain3
juveniles sentenced to life imprisonment; to provide for exceptions; to provide for4
certain conditions; and to provide for related matters.5
Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:6
Section 1. R.S. 15:574.4(B) is hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows: 7
ยง574.4. Parole; eligibility8
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B.(1) No person shall be eligible for parole consideration who has been10
convicted of armed robbery and denied parole eligibility under the provisions of R.S.11
14:64. No Except as provided in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, no prisoner12
serving a life sentence shall be eligible for parole consideration until his life sentence13
has been commuted to a fixed term of years. No prisoner sentenced as a serial sexual14
offender shall be eligible for parole. No prisoner may be paroled while there is15
pending against him any indictment or information for any crime suspected of having16
been committed by him while a prisoner. Notwithstanding any other provisions of17
law to the contrary, a person convicted of a crime of violence and not otherwise18
ineligible for parole shall serve at least eighty-five percent of the sentence imposed,19
before being eligible for parole. The victim or victim's family shall be notified20 HLS 12RS-598 ORIGINAL
HB NO. 344
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whenever the offender is to be released provided that the victim or victim's family1
has completed a Louisiana victim notice and registration form as provided in R.S.2
46:1841 et seq., or has otherwise provided contact information and has indicated to3
the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Crime Victims Services Bureau,4
that they desire such notification.5
(2) Any person serving a sentence of life imprisonment who was under the6
age of eighteen years at the time of the commission of the offense, except for a7
person serving a life sentence for a conviction of first degree murder (R.S. 14:30) or8
second degree murder (R.S. 14:30.1), shall be eligible for parole consideration upon9
reaching the age of sixty years and serving forty-five years of the sentence imposed10
if all of the following conditions are met:11
(a) The offender has not committed any disciplinary offense in the twelve12
consecutive months prior to the parole eligibility date.13
(b) The offender has completed the mandatory minimum of one hundred14
hours of prerelease programming in accordance with R.S. 15:827.1.15
(c) The offender has completed substance abuse treatment as applicable.16
(d) The offender has obtained a GED, unless the offender has previously17
obtained a high school diploma or is deemed by a certified educator as being18
incapable of obtaining a GED due to a learning disability. If the offender is deemed19
incapable of obtaining a GED, the offender shall complete at least one of the20
following:21
(i) A literacy program.22
(ii) An adult basic education program.23
(iii) A job skills training program.24
(e) The offender has obtained a low-risk level designation determined by a25
validated risk assessment instrument approved by the secretary of the Department26
of Public Safety and Corrections.27
(f) The offender has completed a reentry program to be determined by the28
Department of Public Safety and Corrections.29 HLS 12RS-598 ORIGINAL
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(g) If the offender was convicted of aggravated rape, he shall be designated1
a sex offender and upon release shall comply with all sex offender registration and2
notification provisions as required by law.3
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DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
Lopinto HB No. 344
Abstract: Provides for parole eligibility for juveniles serving a sentence of life
imprisonment for convictions of certain crimes.
Present law allows persons who were under the age of 18 at the time of the commission of
the offense to be sentenced to life imprisonment without the benefit of parole for certain
crimes including first degree murder, second degree murder, aggravated rape, and
aggravated kidnapping.
In the case of Graham v. Florida (130 S.Ct. 2011 (2010)), the U.S. Supreme Court held that
the Eighth Amendment's "cruel and unusual punishment" clause does not permit a juvenile
offender to be sentenced to life in prison without a reasonable opportunity for parole for a
nonhomicide crime.
Proposed law amends present law to allow persons who were under the age of 18 at the time
of the commission of the offense, except those persons serving a sentence for a conviction
of first degree murder or second degree murder, to be eligible for parole consideration upon
reaching the age of 60 and upon serving 45 years of the sentence imposed when certain
conditions have been met.
(Amends R.S. 15:574.4(B))