SB 815

This bill creates a sentence adjustment procedure for a “youthful offender,”

defined under the bill as a person who committed a crime before he or she turned 18

years old. This bill also prohibits a court from sentencing a youthful offender to life

imprisonment without the possibility of parole or release to extended supervision,

and creates new mitigating factors in the sentencing criteria when sentencing a

youthful offender. Finally, this bill eliminates statutory mandatory life sentences

without parole for youthful offenders in order to align with federal constitutional law.

Under current law, an inmate can petition to reduce the confinement portion

of his or her bifurcated sentence after serving a certain proportion of the sentence.

An inmate who is serving a life sentence can petition to be released to extended

supervision or parole after serving at least 20 years of his or her sentence or after

another date set by the sentencing court. This bill creates a new procedure for a

youthful offender, including a youthful offender who is serving a life sentence, to

receive a sentence adjustment after serving 15 years of his or her sentence. Under

the bill, one year before the inmate is eligible to petition for the sentence adjustment,

the Department of Corrections is required to notify the youthful offender of his or her

eligibility. The court may reduce the term of imprisonment for the youthful offender

and may modify the conditions of parole or extended supervision if the court

determines that the interests of justice warrant a reduction, taking into account the

factors enumerated in the bill. If the court denies the petition under the bill, the

youthful offender may petition again every five years, up to five times. Under the

bill, DOC is required to send a notice to all youthful offenders who have served at

least 14 years of their sentences within six months after the bill takes effect.

Under current law, when a court makes a sentencing decision, it must consider

certain guidelines, including whether there were any aggravating factors present.

Under this bill, when a court is sentencing a youthful offender, it must also consider

mitigating factors related to the age and maturity of the youthful offender. These

sentencing guidelines for youthful offenders take effect retroactively under the bill,

meaning that they apply to any conviction for which sentencing has already

occurred.

Under current law, if a person is convicted of a serious felony on three separate

occasions or a serious child sex offense on two separate occasions, the person is

subject to a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole or extended

supervision. However, in

Miller v. Alabama

, 567 U.S. 460 (2012), the U.S. Supreme

Court held that imposing a mandatory life sentence without parole for a juvenile

constitutes cruel and unusual punishment and therefore violates the eighth

amendment of the Constitution. This bill clarifies that the statutory mandatory

sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or extended