Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 29 - Prisons And Parole › Part 201 - Mississippi State Parole Board Policies And Procedures › Chapter 3 - The Parole Process › Rule 29-201-3.2 - Parole Consideration and Notification

Current through June 25, 2024
A.
				In determining whether an inmate should be granted parole, the Board shall
				consider all pertinent information regarding each eligible offender, including
				the circumstances of his offense, his previous social history, his previous
				criminal record, whether he or she has served a sufficient portion of his
				sentence, including any records of law enforcement agencies or of a youth court
				regarding that offender's juvenile criminal history, his conduct, employment
				and attitude while in the custody of the department, the case plan created to
				prepare the offender for parole, and the reports of such physical and mental
				examinations as have been made. The Board shall secure and consider this
				information within one (1) year after an inmate's admission into the
				Department's custody, and at such intervals thereafter as it may
				determine.
B. Parole of a person
				convicted of a capital offense shall not be considered by the Board unless and
				until notice of the filing of such application shall have been published at
				least once a week for two (2) weeks in a newspaper published in or having
				general circulation in the county in which the crime was
				committed3.4
C. The Board shall, within thirty (30) days
				prior to the scheduled hearing, also give notice of the filing of the
				application for parole to the victim of the offense for which the prisoner is
				incarcerated and being considered for parole or, in case the offense be
				homicide, a designee of the immediate family of the victim, provided the victim
				or designated family member has furnished in writing a current address to the
				Board for such purpose.
D. The
				Board considers the victim's input as an important factor in making its
				decision as to whether or not to grant parole.5 The
				victim or designated family member shall be provided an opportunity to be heard
				by the Board before the Board makes a decision regarding release on parole.
				Information that is shared with the Board during an appointment may also be
				submitted to the Board by letter, or electronically through e-mail.
E. Parole release shall, at the hearing, be
				ordered for the best interest of society, not as an award of clemency; it shall
				not be considered to be a reduction of sentence or pardon. An offender shall be
				placed on parole when arrangements have been made for his proper employment or
				for his maintenance and care, and when the Board believes that he is able and
				willing to fulfill the obligations of a law-abiding citizen.
F. When the board determines that the
				offender will need transitional housing upon release in order to improve the
				likelihood of the offender becoming a law-abiding citizen, the Board may parole
				the offender with the condition that the inmate spends no more than six (6)
				months in a transitional reentry center.
G. Upon determination by the Board that an
				offender is eligible for release by parole, notice shall also be given within
				at least fifteen (15) days before release, by the Board to the victim of the
				offense or the victim's family member, as indicated above, regarding the date
				when the offender's release shall occur, provided a current address of the
				victim or the victim's family member has been furnished in writing to the board
				for such purpose.6
3 "Capital offenses" are those crimes
				  punishable by the death penalty. The following crimes are deemed "capital
				  offenses" under Mississippi law, and would require publication:
A. Capital murder, pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. §
										97-3-19(2).
B. Treason, pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. §
										97-9-67.
C. Aircraft piracy, pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. §
										97-25-55(1).
4  The following capital offenders
				  are eligible for parole: Inmates convicted of capital murder, whose crime was
				  committed on or after July 1, 1994, as defined in Miss. Code Ann. §
										97-3-19(2); Inmates sentenced to life imprisonment without eligibility for
				  parole under the provisions of Miss. Code Ann. §
										99-19-101, whose crime
				  was committed on or after July 1, 1994. Miss. Code Ann. §
										47-7-17(1)
5 A letter of protest against
				  granting an offender parole shall not be treated as the conclusive and only
				  reason for not granting parole. Miss. Code Ann. §
										47-7-17(4). To register
				  a victim and to receive more information about the Mississippi Crime Victims
				  Bill of Rights, please visit
https://www.ms.gov/mdoc/victim/Home/BillOfRights
6 Failure to provide notice to the
				  victim or the victim's family member of the filing of the application for
				  parole or of any decision made by the board regarding parole shall not
				  constitute grounds for vacating an otherwise lawful parole determination nor
				  shall it create any right or liability, civilly or criminally, against the
				  board or any member thereof. Source: Miss. Code Ann. §
										47-7-17(3).
Miss. Code
				  Ann. §
										47-7-17(1)(2)