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2022 Regular Session
SENATE BILL NO. 336
BY SENATOR SMITH
JUVENILES. Provides for determination of parole eligibility for juveniles under certain
circumstances. (8/1/22)
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 15:574.4(D)(1), to enact R.S. 15:574.4(D)(4) and Code of
3 Criminal Procedure Art. 878.2, and to repeal R.S. 15:574.4(E), (F), and (G) and Code
4 of Criminal Procedure Art. 878.1, relative to juveniles; to provide for parole
5 eligibility for juveniles; to provide for a court hearing to determine parole eligibility
6 after serving twenty years; to provide submission of evidence; to provide for
7 subsequent court hearings; and to provide for related matters.
8 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
9 Section 1. R.S. 15:574.4(D)(1) is hereby amended and reenacted and R.S.
10 15:574.4(D)(4) is hereby enacted to read as follows:
11 ยง574.4. Parole; eligibility; juvenile offenders
12 * * *
13 D.(1) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any person
14 serving a sentence of life imprisonment who was under the age of eighteen years at
15 the time of the commission of the offense, except for a person serving a life sentence
16 for a conviction of first degree murder (R.S. 14:30) or second degree murder (R.S.
17 14:30.1), shall be eligible for parole consideration pursuant to the provisions of this
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1 Subsection if a judicial determination has been made that the person is entitled
2 to parole eligibility pursuant to C.Cr.P. Art. 878.2 and all of the following
3 conditions have been met:
4 (a) The offender has served twenty-five years of the sentence imposed.
5 (b) The offender has not committed any major disciplinary offenses in the
6 twelve consecutive months prior to the parole hearing date. A major disciplinary
7 offense is an offense identified as a Schedule B offense by the Department of Public
8 Safety and Corrections in the Disciplinary Rules and Procedures for Adult Offenders.
9 (c) The offender has completed the mandatory minimum of one hundred
10 hours of prerelease programming in accordance with R.S. 15:827.1.
11 (d) The offender has completed substance abuse treatment as applicable.
12 (e) The offender has obtained a GED certification, unless the offender has
13 previously obtained a high school diploma or is deemed by a certified educator as
14 being incapable of obtaining a GED certification due to a learning disability. If the
15 offender is deemed incapable of obtaining a GED certification, the offender shall
16 complete at least one of the following:
17 (i) A literacy program.
18 (ii) An adult basic education program.
19 (iii) A job skills training program.
20 (f) The offender has obtained a low-risk level designation determined by a
21 validated risk assessment instrument approved by the secretary of the Department
22 of Public Safety and Corrections.
23 (g) The offender has completed a reentry program to be determined by the
24 Department of Public Safety and Corrections.
25 (h) If the offender was convicted of aggravated or first degree rape, he shall
26 be designated a sex offender and upon release shall comply with all sex offender
27 registration and notification provisions as required by law.
28 * * *
29 (4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, if an
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1 offender is denied parole by the committee on parole under this Subsection, the
2 offender shall not be eligible for another parole hearing for at least ten years
3 from the date of denial.
4 Section 2. Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 878.2 is hereby enacted to read as
5 follows:
6 Art. 878.2. Hearing to determine parole eligibility for certain juvenile offenders
7 A. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, if an offender
8 is convicted of a violation of R.S. 14:30, 30.1, 42, 44, 44.2(B)(1), 128.1(B)(1), or
9 any other provision of law which carries a sentence of life imprisonment without
10 parole and the offender was under the age of eighteen years at the time of the
11 commission of the offense, the offender shall be sentenced to life imprisonment
12 with parole eligibility to be determined in accordance with this Article. After
13 the offender has served twenty years of the sentence, the court of conviction
14 shall set the matter for a hearing to determine whether the offender shall be
15 granted parole eligibility pursuant to this Article. The court shall set the matter
16 for a hearing within one hundred eighty days of the offender serving twenty
17 years of the sentence. The hearing may be continued one or more times for good
18 cause on motion of the district attorney, the offender, or the court.
19 B. At the hearing conducted pursuant to this Article, the prosecution and
20 defense shall be allowed to introduce any aggravating and mitigating evidence
21 that is relevant to the charged offense or the character of the offender. Such
22 evidence may include but shall not be limited to:
23 (1) The facts and circumstances of the crime.
24 (2) The nature and extent of the offender's criminal history.
25 (3) The offender's level of family support.
26 (4) The offender's social history.
27 (5) The effect of the crime on the victim, on the victim's family, and on
28 the community.
29 (6) The offender's age, maturity, intellectual capacity, and mental and
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1 emotional health at the time of the offense.
2 (7) The offender's background, including his or her family, home, and
3 community environment.
4 (8) The effect, if any, of immaturity, impetuosity, or failure to appreciate
5 risks and consequences on the offender's participation in the offense.
6 (9) The extent of the offender's participation in the offense.
7 (10) The effect, if any, of familial pressure or peer pressure on the
8 offender's actions.
9 (11) The effect, if any, of characteristics attributable to the offender's
10 youth on the offender's judgment.
11 (12) The possibility of rehabilitating the offender, including but not
12 limited to the offender's actions while incarcerated.
13 (13) Any relevant expert witness testimony, the admissibility of which is
14 to be governed by Chapter 7 of the Code of Evidence.
15 C. The sole purpose of the hearing shall be to determine whether the
16 offender should be granted parole eligibility. The court shall state for the record
17 the considerations taken into account and the factual basis for its determination.
18 If the court determines that the offender should be granted parole eligibility, the
19 offender shall be eligible for parole pursuant to R.S. 15:574.4(D). If the court
20 determines that the offender should not be granted parole eligibility, the
21 offender shall not be eligible for parole. Determinations that the offender should
22 not be eligible for parole should normally be reserved for the worst offenders
23 and the worst cases. The offender shall have the burden of showing by a
24 preponderance of the evidence that he should be granted parole eligibility.
25 D. The district attorney may waive the hearing pursuant to this Article.
26 Such waiver shall be express and in writing and filed by the district attorney
27 into the district court record. If the district attorney waives the hearing
28 pursuant to this Article, the offender shall be granted parole eligibility pursuant
29 to R.S. 15:574.4(D) without a hearing.
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1 E. An offender may appeal an adverse ruling from the district court to
2 the appropriate court of appeal, and the district court's ruling shall be reviewed
3 for an abuse of discretion.
4 F. An offender shall only be eligible for one hearing pursuant to this
5 Article during the offender's lifetime.
6 G. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, if the offender
7 has already been denied parole eligibility under the C.Cr.P.Art. 878.1 as it
8 existed prior to August 1, 2022, the offender shall nevertheless be eligible to
9 avail himself of the provisions of this Article by filing a motion with the court
10 of conviction on or before August 1, 2024. If the offender has already been
11 granted parole eligibility under C.Cr.Art. 878.1 as it existed prior to August 1,
12 2022, the offender shall be eligible for parole pursuant to R.S. 15:574.4(D)
13 without a hearing under this Article.
14 H. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the offender
15 being granted or denied parole eligibility pursuant to this Article shall in no
16 way whatsoever be construed as affecting or negating the finality of the
17 offender's conviction for the purposes of Title XXXI-A of this Code relative to
18 any post-conviction challenge to the offender's conviction or the finality of the
19 offender's conviction for the purposes of any federal habeas corpus challenge
20 to the offender's conviction, and shall not be construed as permitting the
21 offender to raise any challenge under Title XXXI-A of this Code to the
22 offender's conviction or under federal habeas corpus law to the offender's
23 conviction.
24 Section 3. R.S. 15:574.4(E), (F), and (G) and Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 878.1
25 are hereby repealed.
26 Section 4. R.S. 15:574.4(H), (I), and (J) are hereby re-designated as (E), (F), and (G)
27 respectively.
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The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Michael Bell.
DIGEST
SB 336 Original 2022 Regular Session Smith
Present law mandates the consideration eligibility for parole of any person serving a
sentence of life imprisonment who was under the age of 18 years at the time of the
commission of the offense pursuant to certain conditions, except for those serving a life
sentence for a conviction of first degree murder or second degree murder.
Proposed law mandates the consideration eligibility for parole of any person serving a
sentence of life imprisonment who was under the age of 18 years at the time of the
commission of the offense if a judicial determination has been made that the person is
entitled to parole eligibility pursuant to certain conditions and proposed law.
Proposed law provides for any crime that carries a sentence of life imprisonment without
parole and the offender was under the age of 18 years at the time of the commission of the
offense, the offender must be sentenced to life imprisonment with parole eligibility to be
determined in accordance with proposed law.
Proposed law requires the court of conviction to set the matter for a hearing to determine
whether the offender shall be granted parole eligibility after the offender has served 20 years
of the sentence. Proposed law also requires the court to set the matter for a hearing within
180 days of the offender serving 20 years of the sentence.
Proposed law allows the prosecution and defense to introduce any aggravating and
mitigating evidence that is relevant to the charged offense or the character of the offender
at the hearing.
Proposed law provides for the district attorney to waive the hearing in writing and filed by
the district attorney into the district court record. Proposed law also mandates that if the
district attorney waives the hearing the offender must be granted parole eligibility.
Proposed law provides for an offender to appeal an adverse ruling from the district court to
the appropriate court of appeal, and the district court's ruling has to be reviewed for an abuse
of discretion.
Proposed law provides that it should not be construed as affecting or negating the finality
of the offender's conviction for the purposes of any post-conviction challenge if the offender
is granted or denied parole eligibility.
Effective August 1, 2022.
(Amends R.S. 15:574.4(D)(1); adds R.S. 15:574.4(D)(4) and C.Cr.P. Art. 878.2; repeals R.S.
15:574.4(E), (F), and (G) and C.Cr.P. Art. 878.1)
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