Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/boundvolumes/529bv.pdf
Page Number: 336

529US1

Unit: $U40

[10-04-01 09:23:11] PAGES PGT: OPIN

Cite as: 529 U. S. 244 (2000)

261

Souter, J., dissenting

roled before 12 years. But those who would have been pa-
roled when considered a second time at year 10 or a third
time at year 13 will now be delayed to year 15. While the
average helps to show the effects Georgia’s new Rule is
likely to have on some prisoners who would be released at
the early end of the parole spectrum, the changed Rule
threatens to increase punishment for all life-sentenced pris-
oners, not just those who would have been paroled at or be-
If a prisoner who would have been
fore the average time.
paroled on his fourth consideration in year 16 under the old
Rule has to wait until his third consideration in year 23
under the new Rule, his punishment has been increased re-
gardless of the average.

Georgia, which controls all of the relevant information, has
given us nothing to suggest the contrary.
It has given us
no basis to isolate any subclass of life prisoners subject to
the change who were unlikely to be paroled before some re-
view date at which consideration is guaranteed under the
new Rule. On the contrary, the terms of the Rule adopted
by the State deﬁne the affected class as the entire class of
life-sentenced prisoners, and the natural inference is that the
Rule affects prisoners throughout the whole class. This is
very different from the situation in Morales, in which it was
shown that 85% of the affected class were found unsuited for
parole upon reconsideration. Morales, supra, at 511. At
some point, common sense can lead to an inference of a sub-
stantial risk of increased punishment, and it does so here.

The signiﬁcance of that conclusion is buttressed by state-
ments by the board and its chairman, available at the board’s
ofﬁcial website, indicating that its policies were intended
to increase time served in prison. See Georgia State Board
of Pardons and Paroles, News Releases, Policy Mandates
90% Prison Time for Certain Offenses (Jan. 2, 1998), http://
www.pap.state.ga.us/pr
98.html (“Since 1991 the Board
has steadily and consistently amended and reﬁned its guide-
lines and policies to provide for lengthier prison service for