Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts Senate Bill S1547 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1739 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
3	3	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1547
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Liz Miranda
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act relative to parole review for aging incarcerated people.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Liz MirandaSecond SuffolkJack Patrick Lewis7th Middlesex2/8/2023Lydia EdwardsThird Suffolk2/14/2023Patricia D. JehlenSecond Middlesex3/2/2023 1 of 3
16	16	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1739 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
17	17	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1547
18	18	By Ms. Miranda, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1547) of Liz Miranda, Jack Patrick
19	19	Lewis, Lydia Edwards and Patricia D. Jehlen for legislation relative to parole review for aging
20	20	incarcerated people. Public Safety and Homeland Security.
21	21	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
22	22	_______________
23	23	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
24	24	(2023-2024)
25	25	_______________
26	26	An Act relative to parole review for aging incarcerated people.
27	27	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
28	28	of the same, as follows:
29	29	1 Chapter 127 Section 133F: Parole eligibility for people aged 55 and older who have
30	30	2served at least half or 15 years of their sentence
31	31	3 Notwithstanding any other section of law, when a person serving a sentence of
32	32	4incarceration has served at least (i) one half of their minimum term of sentence, or (ii) one half of
33	33	5their total aggregate sentence if serving multiple consecutive sentences, or (iii) one half of the
34	34	6component sentence that carries the latest date if serving multiple concurrent sentences, or (iv)
35	35	7fifteen years, whichever is less, and has reached the age of fifty-five, the parole board shall
36	36	8schedule a hearing within sixty days of eligibility, i.e. the date of the person's fifty-fifth birthday
37	37	9or the day that they meet the time served requirement of this subsection, whichever is later, to
38	38	10determine whether such person should be granted a parole permit under section Chapter 127
39	39	11Section 133A. The board must also give special consideration to the incarcerated person’s 2 of 3
40	40	12advanced age; long-term confinement; diminished physical or mental condition if any, and
41	41	13reasonable accommodations for such conditions.
42	42	14 After such hearing the parole board may, by a vote of two-thirds of its members, grant to
43	43	15such an incarcerated person a permit to be at liberty upon such terms and conditions as it may
44	44	16prescribe for the unexpired term of his sentence. The parole board shall issue its decision within
45	45	17two months of the hearing. If such permit is not granted, the parole board shall, at least once in
46	46	18each ensuing two year period, consider carefully and thoroughly the merits of each such case on
47	47	19the question of releasing such prisoner on parole and may, by a vote of two-thirds of its
48	48	20members, grant such parole permit.
49	49	21 All decisions to grant or deny parole shall be made without bias pertaining to a person’s
50	50	22race, ethnicity, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity
51	51	23 The hearings required by this subsection shall be in addition to and not replace other
52	52	24parole or medical parole eligibility.
53	53	25 If an incarcerated person is indigent, the incarcerated person shall have the right to have
54	54	26appointed counsel at the parole hearing and shall have the right to funds for experts pursuant to
55	55	27chapter 261.
56	56	28 The Parole Board shall file an annual report not later than March 1 for the prior fiscal
57	57	29year with the clerks of the senate and the house of representatives, the senate and house
58	58	30committees on ways and means, and the joint committee on the judiciary detailing: (i) the
59	59	31number of incarcerated people in the custody of the department of correction or the sheriffs who
60	60	32were eligible for parole under this section and the age, gender, race, ethnicity, and governing
61	61	33offense of each person; (ii) the number of incarcerated people who have been granted parole 3 of 3
62	62	34under this section and the age at the time of the hearing, gender, race and ethnicity, and
63	63	35governing offense of each person; (iii) the number of incarcerated people who have been denied
64	64	36parole under this section, the reason for the denial, and the age, gender, race and ethnicity, and
65	65	37governing offense of each person; (iv) the number of incarcerated people eligible for parole
66	66	38under this section who have had previous elder parole hearings; (vii) the number of incarcerated
67	67	39people released under this section who have been returned to the custody of the department or
68	68	40the sheriff and the reason for each prisoner's return. Nothing in this report shall include
69	69	41personally identifiable information of incarcerated people.