Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 158 - Arkansas Parole Board › Rule 158.00.96-001 - Regulations

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
ARKANSAS POST PRISON TRANSFER BOARD POLICIES AND
			 PROCEDURES
I.
COMPOSITION OF THE BOARD
The Arkansas Post Prison Transfer Board (Board) is composed of
			 seven members appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. Each
			 member is appointed for a term of seven years. The Board is required to
			 consider persons eligible for parole, release, or transfer, and to determine
			 which persons shall be placed under supervision and/or to establish the
			 conditions under which such persons shall be released.
The Board is also responsible for reviewing all pardon and
			 executive clemency applications and making non-binding recommendations to the
			 Governor.
The Governor shall appoint the Chairperson of the Board. The
			 Board shall elect, during the month of July, a Vice-Chairperson and a Secretary
			 to serve as officers for the upcoming year. Officers shall be elected by a
			 majority of members present and voting. If an office becomes vacant in the
			 interim, the Board shall elect, at its next regular meeting, a member to serve
			 in that office until the next election. A special election of officers may be
			 called at any time at the request of a majority of the members. The duties of
			 the officers shall be as follows:
Chairperson
- The Chairperson shall preside over the
			 meetings of the Board and shall perform other duties as required during the
			 periods between Board meetings. The Chairperson shall serve by law as a member
			 of the Board of Correction and Community Punishment.
Vice-Chairperson
- In the temporary absence of the
			 Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson shall perform the duties of the
			 Chairperson.
Secretary
- In the temporary absence of the
			 Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson, the Secretary shall perform the duties of
			 the Chairperson.
II.
QUORUM
A quorum of five members will be designated to vote on each
			 file.
A member who abstains for cause is not eligible to vote and shall
			 not be counted in determining whether there is a quorum.
It is sufficient that a motion, decision, or proposition receives
			 a majority of the votes actually cast.
III.
RECUSAL
No member of the Board should participate in the determination of
			 any matter before the Board if he/she is closely related to the person, the
			 person's attorney, or the victim; or if he/she has had a personal or business
			 relationship with the person, the person's family, the person's attorney, the
			 victim, or the victim's family which he/she knows would affect or reasonably
			 give the appearance of affecting his/her judgment in the matter; or if he/she
			 has served as counsel for either party in legal proceedings concerning the
			 person; or if he/she has any other interest in the proceeding that he/she knows
			 would affect or reasonably give the appearance of affecting his/her judgment in
			 the matter. The responsibility for determining the appropriateness of a
			 member's recusal under the guidelines established by this policy shall be
			 solely upon that member. Neither the Board nor any member of the Board shall
			 have the duty to request or the authority to compel any member to recuse. In
			 establishing these guidelines for recusal for members of this Board, it is not
			 the intent of the Board to create a right or basis to challenge the actions of
			 this Board, or any member of the Board, which is not otherwise provided by the
			 laws or Constitution of this State or the United States. In the event a Board
			 member abstains or recuses from a vote for parole, transfer, pardon or
			 clemency, this action is final and cannot be changed.
IV.
GENERAL PROVISIONS
The Board may designate a panel for the interviewing of persons
			 for possible parole, transfer and executive clemency. In addition to a board
			 member, a panel may be comprised of one of the following: a hearing examiner, a
			 designated official of the Department of Corrections, a designated official of
			 the Department of Community Punishment, (or a designated official selected by
			 the board member interviewing).
The Board considers for release or transfer only those persons
			 who are eligible for release or transfer pursuant to Arkansas law. Minutes of
			 the interviews shall be made available to members of the Board prior to any
			 releasing decision. A quorum of five members will be designated to vote on each
			 file. Parole eligibility and transfer dates are computed by the records offices
			 of the various units of the Arkansas Department of Correction. The Board has
			 the power to determine which eligible persons will be released and to fix the
			 time and conditions of release. The Board also has the power to set conditions
			 of release for those persons transferred under Act 555 of 1993. When
			 discretionary, release is ordered only for the best interest of society, not as
			 an award of clemency. A person will be paroled or transferred under the
			 discretionary provisions only when the Board believes that the person is able
			 and willing to fulfill the obligations of a law abiding citizen.
V.
ACCESS TO PERSONS AND
		  RECORDS
All Department of Correction and Community Punishment officials
			 have a legal duty to grant to the members of the Board, or its properly
			 accredited representatives, access at all reasonable times to any person over
			 whom the Board has jurisdiction, to provide facilities for communicating with
			 and observing such persons, to furnish the Board such reports as the Board
			 shall require concerning the conduct and character of any person in the custody
			 of the Department of Correction or Department of Community Punishment and to
			 provide any information deemed pertinent by the Board in determining whether a
			 person shall be released.
VI.
CONSIDERATION OF PERSONS ELIGIBLE
		  FOR TRANSFER OR RELEASE
Persons who commit crimes on or after January 1, 1994, and are
			 subsequently incarcerated for those felonies shall be considered for transfer
			 to the Department of Community Punishment.
Inmates convicted of Murder in the First Degree, Kidnapping,
			 Rape, Aggravated Robbery, Causing a Catastrophe, Engaging in a Continuing
			 Criminal Enterprise or the Manufacture or Delivery of a Schedule I or II
			 Controlled Substance which by aggregate weight including adulterants or
			 diluents is greater than twenty-eight (28) grams are eligible for discretionary
			 transfer after serving the time required, as set forth by the Arkansas
			 Sentencing Commission, with credit for good time as established by law and/or
			 regulation.
The procedure for review of these inmates will be the same as
			 the procedure for person who committed crimes prior to January 1, 1994. (See
			 Section VII ).
All other inmates (not delineated above) who commit crimes on or
			 after January 1, 1994 will have transfer dates calculated by the Department of
			 Correction under rules and regulations promulgated by the Board of Correction
			 and Community Punishment.
The Post Prison Transfer Board will not be required to conduct a
			 hearing on an automatic transfer unless (a) an inmate has received a major
			 disciplinary which resulted in the loss of good time; (b) there has been a
			 request by the victim(s) or the victim(s)' next-of-kin to have input into the
			 establishment of transfer conditions; or (c) there is an indication in the
			 risk/needs assessment review that special conditions need to be placed on an
			 inmate.
Should any of the three (3) above-mentioned factors be present,
			 the Board shall determine the appropriateness of the inmate for transfer by
			 conducting a hearing before a designated panel. Once a hearing is conducted,
			 those members voting will have only two options: .
(1) transfer the inmate to the Department of
		  Community Punishment which specific conditions (which must be within the
		  current resources of the Department of Community Punishment); or
(2) deny transfer to the inmate until the
		  inmate completes a course of action established by the Board that would rectify
		  the Board's concerns. After the completion of the required course of action
		  (which must be within the current resources of the Department of Correction),
		  the Board will be required to transfer the inmate to the Department of
		  Community Punishment.
Should an inmate fail to complete the required course of action,
			 it will be the responsibility of the inmate to request a rehearing before the
			 Board. There will not be an automatic review in such cases.
The following is a list of the various forms of release (in
			 addition to release afforded by executive clemency, discharge, court action or
			 death) by the Board available for persons who committed felonies prior to
			 January 1, 1994, and are subsequently incarcerated in the Arkansas Department
			 of Correction:
A. REGULAR PAROLE
A person sentenced to the Department of Correction for a Class Y,
			 Class A or Class B felony is generally eligible for parole after serving the
			 following:
* 1st Term - 1/3 of sentence with credit for good time
* 2nd Term or 1st termer convicted of a Class Y felony - 1/2 of
			 sentence with credit for good time.
* 3rd Term - 3/4 of sentence with credit for good time.
* 4th Term or more - not eligible for parole, but credit for good
			 time is ' given.
(*NOTE: The Department of Correction counts by incarcerations in
			 adult facilities for felony convictions.)
A person sentenced to the Department of Correction for a Class C
			 or Class D felony is generally eligible for parole after serving the
			 following:
* 1/3 of sentence with credit for good time
Be aware that there are other specific statutes which may alter
			 these general rules.