SB 882

This bill creates a sentence adjustment procedure for a “youthful offender,” which is defined under the bill as a person who committed the crime for which the person is being sentenced before he or she turned 18 years old. The bill also prohibits a court from sentencing a youthful offender to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or release to extended supervision, and the bill creates new mitigating factors that a court must consider when sentencing a youthful offender. Finally, the bill eliminates statutory mandatory life sentences without parole or release to extended supervision for youthful offenders to align with federal constitutional law.

Sentence adjustment procedure for youthful offenders

The bill creates a new procedure for an incarcerated youthful offender to petition the sentencing court for a sentence adjustment after serving 15 years of his or her sentence in prison or, if the person is serving a sentence for a crime that is a felony that caused the death of a person or is a felony sexual assault of a child, after serving 20 years in prison. Under the bill, one year before the youthful offender is eligible to petition for the sentence adjustment, the Department of Corrections is required to notify the youthful offender of his or her eligibility. If the youthful offender files a petition, the court is required to hold a hearing on the petition and to consider the sentencing factors on mitigation for youth created under the bill in determining whether to adjust the youthful offender’s sentence. Notice of the youthful offender’s eligibility for a sentence adjustment hearing, of the petition, and of the hearing must be sent to the district attorney and the crime victim. The youthful offender has the right to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses at the hearing, and the crime victim has the right to be heard.

Under the bill, if the court finds that the interests of justice warrant a sentence adjustment, the court may reduce the term of confinement in prison for the youthful offender and may modify the conditions of extended supervision. If the youthful offender is serving an indeterminate sentence or a life sentence without parole or release to extended supervision, the court may convert the sentence to a bifurcated sentence and set a date on which the petitioner will be eligible for release to extended supervision. Under the bill, the sentencing court may reduce the overall sentence length but may not impose a term of extended supervision that is less than three years. Under the bill, if the youthful offender is serving multiple sentences concurrently or consecutively, the concurrent or consecutive sentences are treated as a single sentence for the purposes of the sentence adjustment procedure.

If the court denies the petition under the bill or adjusts the sentence to provide a date for release to extended supervision that is more than three years after the hearing, the court must provide in writing the reasons for the denial or the delayed release eligibility date. A youthful offender may petition again after three years. Under the bill, DOC is required to send a notice regarding the petition process to all youthful offenders who are eligible to petition for a sentence adjustment at the time the bill becomes law or who will become eligible within one year of that date. The bill also specifies that DOC must consider a person’s status as a youthful offender and proximity to a sentence adjustment hearing date when determining the person’s eligibility for available programming.

Under current law, an inmate who is serving a bifurcated sentence for a crime other than a Class B felony can petition to reduce the confinement portion of his or her bifurcated sentence after serving a certain proportion of the sentence. Current law provides that 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.

Sentencing; mitigating factors

Under current law, when a court makes a sentencing decision, it must consider certain factors, including whether there were any aggravating factors present. Under the bill, when a court is sentencing a youthful offender, the court must also consider mitigating factors related to the age and maturity of the youthful offender. Under the bill, these mitigating factors must also be considered when a court hears a petition for a sentence adjustment for a youthful offender and must be considered by the Parole Commission when determining whether to parole a youthful offender.

Eliminating life sentences without parole or extended supervision for youthful offenders

Under current law, if a person is sentenced to a term of life imprisonment, the sentencing court must either set a date on which the person is eligible for release to parole or extended supervision or determine that the person is not eligible for release to parole or extended supervision. Under the bill, when the court sentences a youthful offender to life imprisonment, the court must set a date on which the person is eligible for release to parole or extended supervision.

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 a repeat offender 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 U.S. Constitution. The bill clarifies that the statutory mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or extended supervision for repeat offenders does not apply to youthful offenders.