MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2021 Regular Session

To: Judiciary, Division B

By: Senator(s) Hill

Senate Bill 2120

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 47-7-2, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE DEFINITION OF THE TERM "TECHNICAL VIOLATION" TO EXCLUDE ANY ACT THAT IS CLASSIFIED AS A CRIME OF VIOLENCE; TO AMEND SECTION 47-7-27, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE REVOCATION FOR PERSONS WHO COMMIT CRIMES OF VIOLENCE WHILE ON PAROLE; TO PROVIDE THAT THE PAROLE BOARD SHALL REFER SUCH MATTERS TO THE APPROPRIATE DISTRICT ATTORNEY FOR PROSECUTION; TO AMEND SECTION 47-7-38, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT IF THE PROBATIONER OR PAROLEE IS ARRESTED FOR A NEW CRIMINAL OFFENSE, HE SHALL BE RETURNED TO THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS TO SERVE THE REMAINDER OF HIS ORIGINAL SENTENCE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

     SECTION 1.  Section 47-7-2, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     47-7-2.  For purposes of this chapter, the following words shall have the meaning ascribed herein unless the context shall otherwise require:

          (a)  "Adult" means a person who is seventeen (17) years of age or older, or any person convicted of any crime not subject to the provisions of the youth court law, or any person "certified" to be tried as an adult by any youth court in the state.

          (b)  "Board" means the State Parole Board.

          (c)  "Parole case plan" means an individualized, written accountability and behavior change strategy developed by the department in collaboration with the Parole Board to prepare offenders for release on parole at the parole eligibility date.  The case plan shall focus on the offender's criminal risk factors that, if addressed, reduce the likelihood of reoffending.

          (d)  "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of

Corrections.

          (e)  "Correctional system" means the facilities, institutions, programs and personnel of the department utilized for adult offenders who are committed to the custody of the department.

          (f)  "Criminal risk factors" means characteristics that increase a person's likelihood of reoffending.  These characteristics include:  antisocial behavior; antisocial personality; criminal thinking; criminal associates; dysfunctional family; low levels of employment or education; poor use of leisure and recreation; and substance abuse.

          (g)  "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

          (h)  "Detention" means the temporary care of juveniles and adults who require secure custody for their own or the community's protection in a physically restricting facility prior to adjudication, or retention in a physically restricting facility upon being taken into custody after an alleged parole or probation violation.

          (i)  "Discharge plan" means an individualized written document that provides information to support the offender in meeting the basic needs identified in the pre-release assessment.  This information shall include, but is not limited to:  contact names, phone numbers, and addresses of referrals and resources.

          (j)  "Evidence-based practices" means supervision policies, procedures, and practices that scientific research demonstrates reduce recidivism.

          (k)  "Facility" or "institution" means any facility for the custody, care, treatment and study of offenders which is under the supervision and control of the department.

          (l)  "Juvenile," "minor" or "youthful" means a person less than seventeen (17) years of age.

          (m)  "Offender" means any person convicted of a crime or offense under the laws and ordinances of the state and its political subdivisions.

          (n)  "Pre-release assessment" means a determination of an offender's ability to attend to basic needs, including, but not limited to, transportation, clothing and food, financial resources, personal identification documents, housing, employment, education, and health care, following release.

          (o)  "Special meetings" means those meetings called by the chairman with at least twenty-four (24) hours' notice or a unanimous waiver of notice.

          (p)  "Supervision plan" means a plan developed by the community corrections department to manage offenders on probation and parole in a way that reduces the likelihood they will commit a new criminal offense or violate the terms of supervision and that increases the likelihood of obtaining stable housing, employment and skills necessary to sustain positive conduct.

          (q)  "Technical violation" means an act or omission by the * * * probationer that offender who violates a condition or conditions of probation, parole, or earned-release supervision placed on the * * * probationer offender by the court, the Parole Board, or the probation and parole officer.  The following offenses shall not be considered technical violations:

              (i)  Any offense classified as a crime of violence under Section 97-3-2;

              (ii)  Any felony or misdemeanor offense that has as an element the use, attempted use, threatened use, or substantial risk of use of physical force against another person;

              (iii)  Any felony offense under the Uniform Controlled Substances Law;

              (iv)  Any felony offense under Title 97, Chapter 41;

              (v)  Any violation of Section 97-17-42 or Section 97-9-72.

          (r)  "Transitional reentry center" means a state-operated or state-contracted facility used to house offenders leaving the physical custody of the Department of Corrections on parole, probation or post-release supervision who are in need of temporary housing and services that reduce their risk to reoffend.

          (s)  "Unit of local government" means a county, city, town, village or other general purpose political subdivision of the state.

          (t)  "Risk and needs assessment" means the determination of a person's risk to reoffend using an actuarial assessment tool validated on Mississippi corrections populations and the needs that, when addressed, reduce the risk to reoffend.

     SECTION 2.  Section 47-7-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     47-7-27.  (1)  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.

     (2)  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.

     (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)  (a)  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 shall immediately have his parole revoked upon presentment of a certified copy of the commitment order to the board.

          (b)  If an offender commits an offense that is classified as a crime of violence under Section 97-3-2 while on parole, whether in the State of Mississippi or another state, the board shall immediately revoke the offender's parole and impose the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence.  Additionally, the board shall refer the matter and the evidence gathered during any investigation to the district attorney having jurisdiction, with a request that such violation be prosecuted (i) by presentation to the grand jury if it appears that a felony violation has occurred, or (ii) either by presentation to the grand jury or by filing a criminal affidavit if it appears that a misdemeanor violation has occurred.

     (6)  (a)  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 one or more technical violations 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 revocation and not to exceed one hundred twenty (120) days for the second revocation.  For the third revocation, 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 revocation, 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 one or more technical violations 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 revocation and not to exceed one hundred twenty (120) days for the second revocation.  For the third revocation, 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 revocation, 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 one or more technical violations 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 one or more technical violations 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 revocation and not to exceed one hundred twenty (120) days for the second revocation.  For the third revocation, 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 revocation, 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 3.  Section 47-7-38, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     47-7-38.  (1)  The department shall have the authority to impose graduated sanctions as an alternative to judicial modification or revocation, as provided in Sections 47-7-27 and 47-7-37, for offenders on probation, parole, or post-release supervision who commit technical violations of the conditions of supervision as defined by Section 47-7-2.

     (2)  The commissioner shall develop a standardized graduated sanctions system, which shall include a grid to guide field officers in determining the suitable response to a technical violation.  The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations for the development and application of the system of sanctions.  Field officers shall be required to conform to the sanction grid developed.

     (3)  The system of sanctions shall include a list of sanctions for the most common types of violations.  When determining the sanction to impose, the field officer shall take into account the offender's assessed risk level, previous violations and sanctions, and severity of the current and prior violations.

     (4)  Field officers shall notify the sentencing court when a probationer has committed a technical violation or the Parole Board when a parolee has committed a technical violation of the type of violation and the sanction imposed. * * *When the technical violation is an arrest  If the probationer or parolee is arrested for a new criminal offense, the field officer shall notify both the court and the Parole Board, as applicable, within forty-eight (48) hours of becoming aware of the arrest, and the offender shall be returned to the jurisdiction of the Mississippi Department of Corrections to serve the remainder of the sentence for the offense for which he was paroled.

     (5)  The graduated sanctions that the department may impose include, but shall not be limited to:

          (a)  Verbal warnings;

          (b)  Increased reporting;

          (c)  Increased drug and alcohol testing;

          (d)  Mandatory substance abuse treatment;

          (e)  Loss of earned-discharge credits; and

          (f)  Incarceration in a county jail for no more than two (2) days.  Incarceration as a sanction shall not be used more than two (2) times per month for a total period incarcerated of no more than four (4) days.

     (6)  The system shall also define positive reinforcements that offenders will receive for compliance with conditions of supervision.  These positive reinforcements shall include, but not limited to:

          (a)  Verbal recognition;

          (b)  Reduced reporting; and

          (c)  Credits for earned discharge which shall be awarded pursuant to Section 47-7-40.

     (7)  The Department of Corrections shall provide semiannually to the Oversight Task Force the number and percentage of offenders who have one or more violations during the year, the average number of violations per offender during the year and the total and average number of incarceration sanctions as defined in subsection (5) of this section imposed during the year.

     SECTION 4.  This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2021.