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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 58th Legislature (2022)
HOUSE BILL 3918 By: Pfeiffer
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to commutations; amending 57 O.S.
2021, Section 332.2, which relates to application
procedures for commutations and par dons; providing
gender-neutral language; directing the Governor to
file notice of commutation with the clerk of the
court; stating requirements for the notice; requiring
notice of commutation decision to victims or
representatives of victims; and providing an
effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 57 O.S. 2021, Section 332.2, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 332.2 A. The Pardon and Pa role Board, which shall me et
only on the call of the Chairman Chair, is authorized, if and when
an application made to t he Governor for a reprieve, commutation,
parole, pardon, or other act of clemency is certified thereto by the
Governor, to examine into the merits of said application and make
recommendations to the Governor in relation thereto, said
recommendation being a dvisory to the Governor and not binding
thereon.
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B. Any consideration for commutation shall be made o nly after
application is made to the P ardon and Parole Board pursuant to the
procedures set forth in this section. The Pardon and Parole Board
shall provide a copy of the application to the district attorney,
the victim or representative of the victim and the Office of the
Attorney General within ten (10) business days of receipt of such
application.
C. An application for commutation, other than those pro vided
for in subsection F of this section, must be sent to the trial
officials, who shall have twenty (20) business days to provide a
written recommendation or protest prior to consideration of the
application. Trial officials shall include:
1. The current elected judge of the court where the conviction
was had;
2. The current elected district attorney of the jurisdiction
where the conviction was had; or
3. The chief or head administrative officer of the arresting
law enforcement agency.
D. In cases resolved prior to the tenure of the present
officeholders, the recommendation or protest of persons hold ing such
offices at the time of convic tion may also be considered by the
Board.
E. The recommendation for commutation of a sentence by a trial
official may include the following:
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1. A statement that the penalty now appears to be excessive;
2. A recommendation of a definite term now consider ed by the
official as just and proper; and
3. A statement of the reasons for the recommendation based upon
facts directly related to the case which were not available to the
court or jury at the time of the trial or b ased upon there having
been a statutory change in penalty for the crime which makes the
original penalty appear excessive.
F. The Pardon and Parole Board shall establish an accelerated,
single-stage commutation docket for any applicant who has been
convicted of a crime that has been reclassif ied from a felony to a
misdemeanor under Oklahoma law. The Pardon and Parole Board shall
be empowered to recommend to the Governor for commutation, by
majority vote, any commutation application placed on the
accelerated, single-stage commutation docket th at meets the
eligibility criteria provided above. The Department of Corrections
shall certify a list of potentially eligible inmates to the Pardon
and Parole Board within thirty (30) days of the effective date of
this act.
G. The Pardon and Parole Board shall schedule the application
on a commutation docket in compliance with the notice requirements
set forth herein. The Board shall provide the victim or
representative of the victim at least twenty (20) days to offer
recommendations or protests before co nsideration of the application.
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H. Applications for commutation shall be given impartial review
as required in Section 10 of Article VI of the Oklahoma
Constitution.
I. Any consideration for pardon shall be made only after
application is made to the Pard on and Parole Board. Upon receipt of
an application for pardon, the Board shall provide a copy of the
application to the district attorney, the victim or representative
of the victim and the Office of the Att orney General within twenty
(20) business days of receipt of such app lication. The district
attorney and the victim or representative of the victim shall have
twenty (20) business days to provide written recommendat ion or
protest prior to the consideratio n of the application. The Board
shall schedule the application on a pardon docket in compliance with
the notice requirements set forth herein.
J. In accordance with Section 10 of Article VI of the Oklahoma
Constitution, the Board shall communicate to the Legislature, at
each regular session, by provi ding a summary of the activities of
the Board. This summary shall include, but not be limited to, the
following Board activity:
1. The approval or recommendation ra tes of the Board for both
violent and nonviolent offenses;
2. The parole approval rates f or each individual Boa rd member
for both violent and nonviolent offenses; and
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3. The percentage of public comments to and personal
appearances before the Board inclu ding victim protests and personal
appearances, district attorney protests and personal app earances,
and delegate recommendations and personal appearances on behalf of
the offender.
This summary shall be mad e available to the public through
publication on the website of the Pardon and Parole Boar d.
K. The Pardon and Parole Board shall provide a copy of their
regular docket and administrative parole docket to each district
attorney in this state at least twen ty (20) days before such docket
is considered by the Board, or in the case of a supplem ental,
addendum or special docket, at least ten (10) days before such
docket is considered by the Board, and shall notify the district
attorney of any recommendations fo r commutations or paroles no later
than twenty (20) days after the docket is considered by the Board.
L. The Pardon and Parole Board shall notify all victims or
representatives of the victim in writing at least twenty (20) days
before an inmate is conside red by the Board provided the Board has
received a request from the victim or repres entatives of the victim
for notice. The Board shall pro vide all victims or re presentatives
of the victim with the date, time and place of the scheduled meeting
and rules for attendance and providing information or i nput to the
Board regarding the inmate o r the crime. If requested by the victim
or representatives of the victim, the Board shall allow the victim
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or representatives of the victim to testify at the parole hearin g of
the inmate for at least five (5) minute s.
M. The Pardon and Parole Board sh all notify all victims or
representatives of the victim in writing of the decisio n of the
Board no later than twenty (20) days after the inmate is considered
by the Board.
N. Any notice required to be provided to the victims or the
representatives of t he victim shall be mailed by first -class mail to
the last-known address of the victi m or representatives of the
victim. It is the responsibility of the victims or representative s
of the victim to provide the Pardon and Parole Board a current
mailing address. The victim-witness coordinator of the district
attorney shall assist the victim s or representatives of the victim
with supplying their address to the Board if they wish to b e
notified. Upon failure of the Pardo n and Parole Board to notify a
victim who has requested notification and has provided a current
mailing address, the final d ecision of the Board may be voidable,
provided, the victim who failed to receive notification requests a
reconsideration hearing wit hin thirty (30) days of the
recommendation by the Board for parole. The Pardon and Parole Board
may reconsider previous act ion and may rescind a recommendation if
deemed appropriate as determined by the Board.
O. For purposes of this section, "victim" shall mean all
persons who have suffere d direct or threatened physical or emotional
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harm, or financial l oss as the result of t he commission or attempted
commission of criminally injurious conduct, and "representatives of
the victim" shall mean those perso ns who are members of the
immediate family of the victim, including stepparents, stepbrothers,
stepsisters, and stepchildren.
P. All meetings of the Pardon and Parole Board shall comply
with Section 301 et seq. of Title 25 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
provided that the Board shall have the auth ority to limit the number
of persons attending in support of, or in opposition to, any inm ate
being considered for parole and shall have the authority to exclude
persons from attendanc e in accordance with prison secu rity
regulations and the capacity of the meeting room. Persons excluded
from attending the meeting under th is provision shall be informed of
their right to be informed of the vote of the Board in accordance
with Section 312 of Title 25 of the Oklahoma Sta tutes. Provided
further, nothing in thi s section shall be construed to prevent any
member of the press or a ny public official fro m attending any
meeting of the Pardon and Parole Board, except as provided by the
Oklahoma Open Meeting Act.
Q. All victim information maintained by the Departmen t of
Corrections and the Pardon and Parole Board shall be confidential
and shall not be relea sed.
R. When a commutation is granted, the Governor shall file
notice of that fact with the clerk of the court which imposed the
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original sentence within thirty (30) days. The notice shall be
filed in the original criminal case numb er which resulted in the
sentence commuted, and the notice shall include the following
information:
1. The month and year in which the commutation was considered
by the Pardon and Parole Board ;
2. Whether the original sentence was the result of a trial by
jury, a trial by the court, a plea of guilty or no contest with an
agreed sentence, or a plea of guilty or no contest with sentencing
left to the court;
3. The original sentence including conditions thereof, if any,
and date of its imposition for each charged count; and
4. The sentence after commutation including conditions thereof,
if any, for each charged count.
S. The Governor shall ensure that all victims or
representatives of the victim are given notice in writing of the
decision regarding commu tation no later than twenty (20) days after
commutation has been granted or denied by the Governor. Notice
shall be mailed by first -class mail to the last -known address of the
victim or representatives of the victim consistent with the
notification provisions set forth in subsection N of this section.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effect ive November 1, 2022.
58-2-9956 GRS 01/06/22