Opinion ID: 2431503
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: THE COMMONWEALTH IS PERMITTED TO INTRODUCE EVIDENCE OF MINIMUM PAROLE ELIGIBILITY. KRS 532.055(2)(a)(1).

Text: What will the Commonwealth tell the jury about minimum parole eligibility? In our present sentencing system, at the point where a convicted offender is turned over to the Department of Corrections, the power to determine the period of incarceration passes completely to the Parole Board. KRS 439.340. This means that an offender could conceivably be released from custody immediately after imposition of sentence. See Commentary to KRS 532.060. Although the Parole Board has promulgated an administrative regulation which establishes a schedule for parole eligibility, [t]o this schedule, however, the board added the qualification that it could `review the case of any inmate for parole consideration prior to his eligibility date if it appears advisable to do so.' Kentucky Parole Board Reg. DC-Rg-6(8). Thus, at least from a theoretical viewpoint, we [have] in Kentucky an indeterminate sentence with a maximum term that [is] fixed by the jury and no minimum term. Commentary to KRS 532.060. [Emphasis omitted]. There is no way to comprehensibly convey to the jury all of the conflicting possibilities that surround parole eligibility. It beggars the imagination to visualize the examination and cross-examination of the experts who will testify to provide this information. The prospect of confusion and half-truths is inevitable.