KRS § 439.340 — KY Code / Title XL / Chapter 439 / Section 439.340
439.340 Parole of prisoners confined in adult penal or correctional institutions, halfway houses, and reentry centers -- Notice of prisoner's parole to be given to certain law enforcement officers, and to victims or their next of kin
Status: in_force

439.340 Parole of prisoners confined in adult penal or correctional institutions,

halfway houses, and reentry centers -- Notice of prisoner's parole to be given to

certain law enforcement officers, and to victims or their next of kin.

(1) The board may release on parole persons confined in any adult state penal or

correctional institution of Kentucky or sentenced felons incarcerated in county jails

eligible for parole. All paroles shall issue upon order of the board duly adopted. As

soon as practicable after his or her admission to an adult state penal or correctional

institution or county jail if he or she is a sentenced felon, and at such intervals

thereafter as it may determine, the Department of Corrections shall obtain all

pertinent information regarding each prisoner, except those not eligible for parole.

The information shall include the results of his or her most recent risk and needs

assessment, his or her criminal record, his or her conduct, employment, and the

reports of physical and mental examinations that have been made. The Department

of Corrections shall furnish the circumstances of his or her offense, the results of

his or her most recent risk and needs assessment, and his or her previous social

history to the board. The Department of Corrections shall prepare a report on any

information it obtains. It shall be the duty of the Department of Corrections to

supplement this report with any material the board may request and submit the

report to the board.

(2) Before granting the parole of any prisoner, the board shall consider the pertinent

information regarding the prisoner, including the results of his or her most recent

risk and needs assessment, and shall have him or her appear before it for interview

and hearing. The board in its discretion may hold interviews and hearings for

prisoners convicted of Class C felonies not included within the definition of

"violent offender" in KRS 439.3401 and Class D felonies not included within the

definition of "sex crime" in KRS 17.500. The board in its discretion may request the

parole board of another state confining prisoners pursuant to KRS 196.610 to

interview eligible prisoners and make a parole recommendation to the board. A

parole shall be ordered only for the best interest of society and not as an award of

clemency, and it shall not be considered a reduction of sentence or pardon. A

prisoner shall be placed on parole only when arrangements have been made for his

or her proper employment or for his or her maintenance and care, and when the

board believes he or she is able and willing to fulfill the obligations of a law abiding

citizen. Notwithstanding any statute to the contrary, including KRS 440.330, when

a prisoner is otherwise eligible for parole and the board has recommended parole

for that prisoner for the reasons set forth in this subsection, the board may grant

parole to any prisoner wanted as a fugitive by any other jurisdiction, and the

prisoner shall be released to the detainer from that jurisdiction. Such parole shall

not constitute a relinquishment of jurisdiction over the prisoner, and the board in all

cases expressly reserves the right to return the prisoner to confinement in a

correctional institution of the Commonwealth if the prisoner violates the terms of

his or her parole.

(3) (a) A nonviolent offender convicted of a Class D felony with an aggregate

sentence of one (1) to five (5) years who is confined to a state penal institution

or county jail shall have his or her case reviewed by the Parole Board after

serving fifteen percent (15%) or two (2) months of the original sentence,

whichever is longer.

(b) Except as provided in this section, the board shall adopt administrative

regulations with respect to the eligibility of prisoners for parole, the conduct

of parole and parole revocation hearings and all other matters that come

before it, or conditions to be imposed upon parolees. Regulations governing

the eligibility of prisoners for parole shall be in accordance with

professionally accepted ideas of correction and reform and may utilize in part

objective, performance-based criteria and risk and needs assessment

information; however, nothing herein contained shall preclude the board from

utilizing its present regulations in conjunction with other factors involved that

would relate to the inmate's needs and the safety of the public.

(4) The board shall ensure that all sentenced felons who have longer than ninety (90)

days to serve in state penal institutions, halfway houses, reentry centers, and county

jails are considered for parole not less than sixty (60) days prior to their parole

eligibility date, and the Department of Corrections shall provide the necessary

assistance and information to the board in order for it to conduct timely parole

reviews.

(5) In addition to or in conjunction with each hearing conducted under subsection (2) of

this section for any prisoner convicted of a Class A, B, or C felony or a Class D

felony included within the definition of "sex crime" in KRS 17.500 and prior to the

granting of a parole to any such prisoner, the Parole Board shall conduct a hearing

of which the following persons shall receive not less than forty-five (45) nor more

than ninety (90) days' notice: the Commonwealth's attorney who shall notify the

sheriff of every county and the chief of police of every city and county in which the

prisoner committed any Class A, B, or C felony or a Class D felony included within

the definition of "sex crime" in KRS 17.500 for which he or she is imprisoned, and

all identified victims of the crimes or the next of kin of any victim who is deceased.

Notice to the Commonwealth's attorney shall be by mail, fax, or electronic means at

the discretion of the board, and shall be in a manner that ensures receipt at the

Commonwealth's attorney's business office. Notices received by chiefs of police

and sheriffs shall be posted in a conspicuous location where police employed by the

department may see it. Notices shall be posted in a manner and at a time that will

allow officers to make comment thereon to the Parole Board. Notice to victims or

their next of kin shall be made, for prisoners incarcerated prior to July 15, 1986, by

mail, fax, or electronic means at the discretion of the board, and shall be in a

manner that ensures receipt by the Commonwealth's attorney, who shall forward the

notice promptly to the victims or their next of kin at their last known address. For

prisoners incarcerated on or after July 15, 1986, notice to the victims or their next

of kin shall be by mail from the Parole Board to their last known address as

provided by the Commonwealth's attorney to the Parole Board at the time of

incarceration of the prisoner. For prisoners incarcerated prior to April 1, 2021, for a

Class D felony included within the definition of "sex crime" in KRS 17.500, notice

to the victims or their next of kin shall be in a manner that ensures receipt by the

Commonwealth's attorney, who shall forward the notice promptly to the victims or

their next of kin at their last known address. For prisoners incarcerated on or after

April 1, 2021, for a Class D felony included within the definition of "sex crime" in

KRS 17.500, notice to the victims or their next of kin shall be by mail from the

Parole Board to their last known address as provided by the Commonwealth's

attorney to the Parole Board at the time of incarceration of the prisoner. Notice to

the victim or the next of kin of subsequent considerations for parole after the initial

consideration shall not be sent if the victim or the next of kin gives notice to the

board that he or she no longer wants to receive such notices. The notice shall

include the time, date, and place of the hearing provided for in this subsection, and

the name and address of a person to write if the recipient of the notice desires to

attend the hearing or to submit written comments.

(6) Persons receiving notice as provided for in subsection (5) of this section may

submit comments, in person or in writing, to the board upon all issues relating to

the parole of the prisoner. The board shall read and consider all comments prior to

making its parole decision, if they are received by the board not less than seven (7)

days before the date for the hearing. The board shall retain all comments in the

prisoner's permanent Parole Board file, and shall consider them in conjunction with

any subsequent parole decisions affecting the prisoner. In addition to officers listed

in subsection (5) of this section, the crime victims or the next of kin of any victim

who is deceased or who is disabled and cannot attend the hearing or the parent or

legal guardian of any victim who is a minor may attend the hearing provided for in

subsection (5) of this section and present oral and written comments upon all issues

relating to the parole of the prisoner, if they have advised the board, in writing

received by the board not less than seven (7) days prior to the date set for the

hearing, of their intention to attend the hearing. The board shall receive and

consider all comments, shall make a record of them which it shall retain in the

prisoner's permanent Parole Board file, and shall consider them in conjunction with

any subsequent parole decision affecting the prisoner. Persons appearing before the

Parole Board pursuant to this subsection may elect to make their presentations

outside of the presence of the prisoner.

(7) Victims of Class D felonies not included within the definition of "sex crime" in

KRS 17.500 may submit comments in person or in writing to the board upon all

issues relating to the parole of a prisoner.

(8) Any hearing provided for in subsections (5), (6), and (7) of this section shall be

open to the public unless the persons having a right to appear before the board as

specified in those subsections request closure of hearing for reasons of personal

safety, in which event the hearing shall be closed. The time, date, and location of

closed hearings shall not be disclosed to the public.

(9) Except as specifically set forth in this section, nothing in this section shall be

deemed to expand or abridge any existing rights of persons to contact and

communicate with the Parole Board or any of its members, agents, or employees.

(10) The unintentional failure by the Parole Board, sheriff, chief of police, or any of its

members, agents, or employees or by a Commonwealth's attorney or any of his or

her agents or employees to comply with any of the provisions of subsections (5),

(6), and (8) of this section shall not affect the validity of any parole decision or give

rise to any right or cause of action by the crime victim, the prisoner, or any other

person.

(11) No eligible sexual offender within the meaning of KRS 197.400 to 197.440 shall be

granted parole unless he or she has successfully completed the Sexual Offender

Treatment Program.

(12) Any prisoner who is granted parole after completion of the Sexual Offender

Treatment Program shall be required, as a condition of his or her parole, to

participate in regular treatment in a mental health program approved or operated by

the Department of Corrections.

(13) When the board grants parole contingent upon completion of a program, the

commissioner, or his or her designee, shall determine the most appropriate

placement in a program operated by the department or a residential or

nonresidential program within the community approved by the department. If the

department releases a parolee to a nonresidential program, the department shall

release the parolee only if he or she will have appropriate community housing

pursuant to KRS 439.3408.

(14) If the Parole Board does not grant parole to a prisoner, the maximum deferment for

a prisoner convicted of a non-violent, non-sexual Class C or Class D felony shall be

twenty-four (24) months. For all other prisoners who are eligible for parole:

(a) No parole deferment greater than five (5) years shall be ordered unless

approved by a majority vote of the full board; and

(b) No deferment shall exceed ten (10) years, except for life sentences.

(15) When an order for parole is issued, it shall recite the conditions thereof, which may

include requiring the person to participate in a specific evidence-based program

designed to reduce violence.