House Bill 401

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 47-7-27, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROHIBIT THE PAROLE BOARD FROM ISSUING A WARRANT FOR THE RETURN OF A PAROLED OFFENDER IF THE WARRANT IS BASED SOLELY ON THE OFFENDER BEING NEAR THE VICINITY OF A FIREARM IN ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL'S RESIDENCY OR MOTOR VEHICLE AND SUCH OFFENDER ALLEGES THAT HE OR SHE IS NOT THE OWNER OF THE FIREARM; TO PROHIBIT THE WARRANTLESS ARREST OF A PAROLED OFFENDER, BY A FIELD OFFICER, IF THE ARREST IS BASED SOLELY ON THE OFFENDER BEING NEAR THE VICINITY OF A FIREARM IN ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL'S RESIDENCY OR MOTOR VEHICLE AND THE OFFENDER ALLEGES THAT HE OR SHE IS NOT THE OWNER OF THE FIREARM; TO PROVIDE THAT THE PAROLE OR THE EARNED-RELEASE SUPERVISION OF A PAROLED INDIVIDUAL SHALL NOT BE AUTOMATICALLY REVOKED UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 47-7-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

47-7-27. (1) (a) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the board may, at any time and upon a showing of probable violation of parole, issue a warrant for the return of any paroled offender to the custody of the department. The warrant shall authorize all persons named therein to return the paroled offender to actual custody of the department from which he was paroled.

(b) The board is prohibited from issuing a warrant for the return of any paroled offender to the custody of the department when the sole basis of the warrant is for the following acts:

(i) An offender is near the vicinity of a firearm in another individual's residency, and the offender alleges that he or she is not the owner of the firearm; or

(ii) An offender is near the vicinity of a firearm in another individual's motor vehicle and the offender alleges that he or she is not the owner of the firearm.

The parole or earned-release supervision of the offender shall not be automatically revoked whenever either of the above sole acts prescribed in this paragraph occur but instead the board shall hold a hearing within twenty-one (21) days of the alleged violation. An offender shall not be detained before a hearing is conducted regarding the revocation or modification of the parole or earned-release supervision of the offender.

(2) (a) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, any field supervisor may arrest an offender without a warrant or may deputize any other person with power of arrest by giving him a written statement setting forth that the offender has, in the judgment of that field supervisor, violated the conditions of his parole or earned-release supervision. The written statement delivered with the offender by the arresting officer to the official in charge of the department facility from which the offender was released or other place of detention designated by the department shall be sufficient warrant for the detention of the offender.

(b) A field officer is prohibited from arresting an offender without a warrant when the sole basis of the arrest is for the following acts:

(i) An offender is near the vicinity of a firearm in another individual's residency, and the offender alleges that he or she is not the owner of the firearm; or

(ii) An offender is near the vicinity of a firearm in another individual's motor vehicle and the offender alleges that he or she is not the owner of the firearm.

(3) The field supervisor, after making an arrest, shall present to the detaining authorities a similar statement of the circumstances of violation. The field supervisor shall at once notify the board or department of the arrest and detention of the offender and shall submit a written report showing in what manner the offender has violated the conditions of parole or earned-release supervision. An offender for whose return a warrant has been issued by the board shall, after the issuance of the warrant, be deemed a fugitive from justice.

(4) Whenever an offender is arrested on a warrant for an alleged violation of parole as herein provided, the board shall hold an informal preliminary hearing within seventy-two (72) hours to determine whether there is reasonable cause to believe the person has violated a condition of parole. A preliminary hearing shall not be required when the offender is not under arrest on a warrant or the offender signed a waiver of a preliminary hearing. The preliminary hearing may be conducted electronically.

(5) The right of the State of Mississippi to extradite persons and return fugitives from justice, from other states to this state, shall not be impaired by this chapter and shall remain in full force and effect. An offender convicted of a felony committed while on parole, whether in the State of Mississippi or another state, shall immediately have his parole revoked upon presentment of a certified copy of the commitment order to the board. If an offender is on parole and the offender is convicted of a felony for a crime committed prior to the offender being placed on parole, whether in the State of Mississippi or another state, the offender may have his parole revoked upon presentment of a certified copy of the commitment order to the board.

(6) (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the board shall hold a hearing for any parolee who is detained as a result of a warrant or a violation report within twenty-one (21) days of the parolee's admission to detention. The board may, in its discretion, terminate the parole or modify the terms and conditions thereof. If the board revokes parole for a technical violation the board shall impose a period of imprisonment to be served in a technical violation center operated by the department not to exceed ninety (90) days for the first technical violation and not to exceed one hundred twenty (120) days for the second technical violation. For the third technical violation, the board may impose a period of imprisonment to be served in a technical violation center for up to one hundred and eighty (180) days or the board may impose the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. For the fourth and any subsequent technical violation, the board may impose up to the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. The period of imprisonment in a technical violation center imposed under this section shall not be reduced in any manner.

(b) If the board does not hold a hearing or does not take action on the violation within the twenty-one-day time frame in paragraph (a) of this subsection, the parolee shall be released from detention and shall return to parole status. The board may subsequently hold a hearing and may revoke parole or may continue parole and modify the terms and conditions of parole. If the board revokes parole for a technical violation the board shall impose a period of imprisonment to be served in a technical violation center operated by the department not to exceed ninety (90) days for the first technical violation and not to exceed one hundred twenty (120) days for the second technical violation. For the third technical violation, the board may impose a period of imprisonment to be served in a technical violation center for up to one hundred eighty (180) days or the board may impose the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. For the fourth and any subsequent technical violation, the board may impose up to the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. The period of imprisonment in a technical violation center imposed under this section shall not be reduced in any manner.

(c) For a parolee charged with a technical violation who has not been detained awaiting the revocation hearing, the board may hold a hearing within a reasonable time. The board may revoke parole or may continue parole and modify the terms and conditions of parole. If the board revokes parole for a technical violation the board shall impose a period of imprisonment to be served in a technical violation center operated by the department not to exceed ninety (90) days for the first technical violation and not to exceed one hundred twenty (120) days for the second technical violation. For the third technical violation, the board may impose a period of imprisonment to be served in a technical violation center for up to one hundred eighty (180) days or the board may impose the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. For the fourth and any subsequent technical violation, the board may impose up to the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. The period of imprisonment in a technical violation center imposed under this section shall not be reduced in any manner.

(7) Unless good cause for the delay is established in the record of the proceeding, the parole revocation charge shall be dismissed if the revocation hearing is not held within the thirty (30) days of the issuance of the warrant.

(8) The chairman and each member of the board and the designated parole revocation hearing officer may, in the discharge of their duties, administer oaths, summon and examine witnesses, and take other steps as may be necessary to ascertain the truth of any matter about which they have the right to inquire.

(9) The board shall provide semiannually to the Oversight Task Force the number of warrants issued for an alleged violation of parole, the average time between detention on a warrant and preliminary hearing, the average time between detention on a warrant and revocation hearing, the number of ninety-day sentences in a technical violation center issued by the board, the number of one-hundred-twenty-day sentences in a technical violation center issued by the board, the number of one-hundred-eighty-day sentences issued by the board, and the number and average length of the suspended sentences imposed by the board in response to a violation.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2017.