| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to parole for juveniles; amending s. |
| 3 | 985.225, F.S.; providing that a child younger than a |
| 4 | specified age who is sentenced to life or more than 10 |
| 5 | years in prison is eligible for parole if the child has |
| 6 | been incarcerated for a minimum period and has not |
| 7 | previously been adjudicated for certain offenses; |
| 8 | requiring that the child be incarcerated in a youthful- |
| 9 | offender facility; providing for review of a child's |
| 10 | eligibility for parole by the Parole Commission; requiring |
| 11 | the commission to conduct an initial interview with the |
| 12 | child within a minimum time; providing that, if the child |
| 13 | is not granted parole by the time the child reaches a |
| 14 | specified age, or after the child receives a second |
| 15 | parole-eligibility review before that age, the child must |
| 16 | be transferred from the youthful-offender facility to an |
| 17 | appropriate adult facility; providing an effective date. |
| 18 |
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| 19 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 20 |
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| 21 | Section 1. Present subsection (4) of section 985.225, |
| 22 | Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (5), and a new |
| 23 | subsection (4) is added to that section, to read: |
| 24 | 985.225 Indictment of a juvenile; parole of certain |
| 25 | offenders.-- |
| 26 | (4)(a) If the child is 15 years of age or younger and is |
| 27 | sentenced to life imprisonment or to a minimum term of |
| 28 | imprisonment in excess of 10 years, the child is eligible for |
| 29 | parole when he or she has served 8 years of that sentence if he |
| 30 | or she has not previously been adjudicated for a violation of: |
| 31 | 1. Any offense specified in s. 775.084(1)(b)1.; |
| 32 | 2. Section 784.03, relating to battery; |
| 33 | 3. Section 827.03, relating to child abuse; or |
| 34 | 4. Section 828.12, relating to cruelty to animals. |
| 35 | (b) Except as otherwise provided in s. 958.11(3), the |
| 36 | child shall be incarcerated in a facility for youthful |
| 37 | offenders. |
| 38 | (c) The Parole Commission shall review the child's |
| 39 | eligibility for release under ss. 947.16-947.26, except that the |
| 40 | commission shall conduct the initial interview with the child |
| 41 | within 2 months after the initial date of confinement in |
| 42 | execution of the judgment. The age and maturity of the child at |
| 43 | the time of the offense and the wishes of the victim or the |
| 44 | victim's next of kin must be considered in establishing the |
| 45 | presumptive parole release date. If the child has not been |
| 46 | granted parole by the time the child reaches 25 years of age, or |
| 47 | is not granted parole after a second eligibility review |
| 48 | conducted by the commission before the child reaches 25 years of |
| 49 | age, the child shall be transferred from the facility for |
| 50 | youthful offenders to an appropriate facility for adults. |
| 51 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2005. |