CS/HB 757

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to parole for adolescent offenders;
3	providing a short title; amending s. 947.16, F.S.;
4	providing definitions; providing that a child 15 years of age
5	or younger who is sentenced to life or more than 10 years in
6	prison is eligible for parole if the offender has been
7	incarcerated for a minimum period and has not previously been
8	convicted or adjudicated delinquent of or had adjudication
9	withheld for certain offenses; requiring an initial
10	eligibility interview to determine whether the adolescent
11	offender has been sufficiently rehabilitated for parole;
12	providing criteria to determine sufficient rehabilitation;
13	providing eligibility for a reinterview after a specified
14	period for offenders denied parole; providing that the child
15	be incarcerated in a facility with a GED program; providing
16	that if the child is granted parole, the adolescent
17	offender must participate in any available reentry program
18	for 2 years; defining the term "reentry program";
19	providing priority for certain programs; providing for
20	eligibility for an initial eligibility interview for
21	offenders in their eighth or subsequent year of
22	incarceration on the effective date of the act; providing
23	for retroactive application; providing an effective date.
24
25	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
26
27	Section 1.  This act may be cited as the "Second Chance for
28	Children in Prison Act of 2009."
29	Section 2.  Paragraph (f) is added to subsection (1) of
30	section 947.16, Florida Statutes, subsections (2) through (6)
31	are renumbered as subsections (4) through (8), respectively, and
32	new subsections (2) and (3) are added to that section, to read:
33	947.16  Eligibility for parole; initial parole interviews;
34	powers and duties of commission; adolescent offender
35	eligibility.--
36	(1)  Every person who has been convicted of a felony or who
37	has been convicted of one or more misdemeanors and whose
38	sentence or cumulative sentences total 12 months or more, who is
39	confined in execution of the judgment of the court, and whose
40	record during confinement or while under supervision is good,
41	shall, unless otherwise provided by law, be eligible for
42	interview for parole consideration of her or his cumulative
43	sentence structure as follows:
44	(f)1.  As used in this paragraph and subsections (2) and
45	(3), the term:
46	a.  "Adolescent offender" means an offender who was 15
47	years of age or younger at the time the criminal act was
48	committed and was sentenced to life or to a single or cumulative
49	term of imprisonment of 10 years or more.
50	b.  "Current offense" means one or more crimes committed by
51	the adolescent offender within a 1-month period of time or for
52	which sentences run concurrent to each other.
53	2.  An adolescent offender may be eligible for parole as
54	provided in this paragraph. An adolescent offender is ineligible
55	under this paragraph if she or he, before the current offense,
56	was convicted or adjudicated delinquent of or had adjudication
57	withheld for any violation of:
58	a.  Section 782.04, entitled "Murder";
59	b.  Section 784.041, entitled "Felony battery; domestic
60	battery by strangulation";
61	c.  Section 784.045, entitled "Aggravated battery";
62	d.  Section 784.07, entitled "Assault or battery of law
63	enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical care
64	providers, public transit employees or agents, or other
65	specified officers; reclassification of offenses; minimum
66	sentences";
67	e.  Section 784.08, entitled "Assault or battery on persons
68	65 years of age or older; reclassification of offenses; minimum
69	sentence";
70	f.  Section 787.01, entitled "Kidnapping; kidnapping of
71	child under age 13, aggravating circumstances";
72	g.  Section 790.07, entitled "Persons engaged in criminal
73	offense, having weapons";
74	h.  Section 794.011, entitled "Sexual battery";
75	i.  Section 812.133, entitled "Carjacking";
76	j.  Section 812.135, entitled "Home-invasion robbery";
77	k.  Section 827.03, entitled "Abuse, aggravated abuse, and
78	neglect of a child; penalties"; or
79	l.  Section 828.12, entitled "Cruelty to animals."
80	3.  Before an adolescent offender may be granted parole
81	under this paragraph, she or he must have an initial eligibility
82	interview to determine whether she or he has been sufficiently
83	rehabilitated while in the custody of the department to justify
84	granting parole. The initial eligibility interview will occur in
85	the eighth year of incarceration. In order to determine if the
86	adolescent offender has been sufficiently rehabilitated, she or
87	he must have successfully completed the General Educational
88	Development (GED) program unless waived based on disability and
89	have received no disciplinary reports for a period of at least 2
90	years immediately prior to initial and subsequent interviews.
91	The hearing examiner must also take into serious consideration
92	the wishes of the victim or the opinions of the victim's next of
93	kin and must also consider whether:
94	a.  The adolescent offender was a principal to the criminal
95	offense or an accomplice to the offense, a relatively minor
96	participant in the criminal offense, or acted under extreme
97	duress or domination of another person.
98	b.  The adolescent offender has shown remorse for the
99	criminal offense.
100	c.  The adolescent offender's age, maturity, and
101	psychological development at the time of the offense affected
102	her or his behavior.
103	d.  The adolescent offender, while in the custody of the
104	department, has aided inmates suffering from catastrophic or
105	terminal medical, mental, or physical conditions or has
106	prevented risk or injury to staff, citizens, or other inmates.
107	e.  The adolescent offender has successfully completed
108	educational and self-rehabilitation programs.
109	f.  The adolescent offender was a victim of sexual,
110	physical, or emotional abuse.
111	4.  An adolescent offender who is not granted parole under
112	this paragraph after an initial eligibility interview shall be
113	eligible for a reinterview 2 years after the date of the denial
114	of the grant of parole and every 2 years thereafter.
115	(2)  An adolescent offender must be serving the sentence in
116	a facility that has a General Educational Development (GED)
117	program unless the adolescent offender has already successfully
118	completed a GED program.
119	(3)  If the adolescent offender is granted parole, the
120	adolescent offender must participate in any available reentry
121	program for 2 years. As used in this subsection, the term
122	"reentry program" means a program that promotes effective
123	reintegration of offenders back into communities upon release
124	and provides one or more of the following: vocational training,
125	placement services, transitional housing, mentoring, or drug
126	rehabilitation. Priority shall be given to those reentry
127	programs that are residential, highly structured, self-reliant,
128	and therapeutic communities.
129	Section 3.  An adolescent offender, as defined in s.
130	947.16(1)(f), Florida Statutes, as created by this act, in his
131	or her eighth or subsequent year of incarceration on the
132	effective date of this act must receive an initial eligibility
133	interview as provided in s. 947.16(1)(f)3., Florida Statutes, as
134	created by this act, if he or she is otherwise eligible.
135	Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law
136	and shall apply retroactively.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.