HB 1515

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to elderly inmates; creating the Elderly
3	Rehabilitated Inmate Program to authorize the Parole
4	Commission to approve the early release of certain elderly
5	inmates; defining terms; providing eligibility
6	requirements for an inmate to participate in the program;
7	requiring that the petition to participate in the program
8	include certain documents; requiring the Department of
9	Corrections to notify the victim or the victim's family
10	within a specified period that a petition has been filed;
11	detailing the criteria that must be satisfied before the
12	petition to participate in the program may be approved;
13	requiring that the inmate participate in community service
14	and submit to electronic monitoring as conditions for
15	participating in the program; requiring the Department of
16	Corrections to implement pilot programs patterned on
17	restorative justice programs in one female and two male
18	correctional institutions; providing that any proposed
19	programs be developed after consultation with specified
20	persons; authorizing the department to conduct the
21	programs using departmental employees or private agencies;
22	requiring that the Elderly Rehabilitated Inmate Program
23	include comprehensive victim services to ensure the safety
24	of victims after the release of an inmate under the
25	program; requiring the department to adopt rules;
26	providing an effective date.
27
28	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
29
30	Section 1.  Elderly Rehabilitated Inmate Program; pilot
31	programs.-
32	(1)  As used in this section, the term:
33	(a)  "Commission" means the Parole Commission.
34	(b)  "Department" means the Department of Corrections.
35	(c)  "Program" means the Elderly Rehabilitated Inmate
36	Program.
37	(2)  An inmate who:
38	(a)  Is 50 years of age or older;
39	(b)  Has served at least 25 consecutive years of
40	imprisonment in an institution or facility of the department;
41	and
42	(c)  Is serving a sentence other than death,
43
44	may petition the commission to participate in the Elderly
45	Rehabilitated Inmate Program.
46	(3)  Each petition filed on behalf of an inmate to
47	participate in the program must contain:
48	(a)  Documentation of the inmate's relevant medical
49	history, including current medical prognosis; and
50	(b)  The inmate's prison experience and criminal history.
51	The criminal history must include any claim of innocence, the
52	degree to which the inmate accepts responsibility for his or her
53	acts leading to the conviction of the crime, and how the claim
54	of responsibility has affected the inmate's feelings of remorse.
55	(4)  If an eligible inmate files a petition to participate
56	in the program, the department shall notify the victim or the
57	family of the victim no later than 30 days after the petition is
58	filed.
59	(5)  The commission may approve an inmate for participation
60	in the program if the inmate demonstrates:
61	(a)  Successful participation in programs designed to
62	restore the inmate as a useful and productive person in the
63	community upon release or, if such programs are not available,
64	the inmate demonstrates an attempt to be a useful and productive
65	person in the community upon release;
66	(b)  Genuine reform and changed behavior over a period of
67	years;
68	(c)  Remorse for actions that have caused pain and
69	suffering to the victims of his or her offenses;
70	(d)  An ability to socialize with others in an acceptable
71	manner; and
72	(e)  A renunciation of criminal activity and gang
73	affiliation if the inmate was a member of a gang.
74	(6)  The commission shall consider the petition in its
75	entirety and may not order the release of an inmate if the
76	commission finds that the inmate poses a continued threat to
77	public safety. If the commission determines that an inmate is
78	eligible for and should participate in the Elderly Rehabilitated
79	Inmate Program, the commission shall set the conditions for the
80	inmate's release from prison before the expiration of the
81	inmate's sentence. The commission, when granting participation
82	in the program, shall require the inmate to participate in 10
83	hours of community service for each year served in prison and
84	require that the inmate be subject to electronic monitoring for
85	at least 1 year.
86	(7)  An inmate may file only one petition to participate in
87	the program.
88	(8)  The department shall develop a pilot program that is
89	patterned on restorative justice programs and includes classes
90	on the effect of crime on crime victims. The pilot program shall
91	be implemented at one maximum security prison for women and at
92	two maximum security prisons for men. Restorative justice
93	programs that include classes on the effect that crime has on
94	victims shall be made available on a voluntary basis to inmates
95	who are eligible to participate in the Elderly Rehabilitated
96	Inmate Program.
97	(9)  Any proposed program or strategy created under this
98	section must be developed after identifying a need in the
99	community for such program, through consultation with
100	representatives of the public, members of the judiciary, law
101	enforcement agencies, state attorneys, and defense attorneys.
102	(10)  The department may provide departmental staff to
103	conduct the programs created under this section or may contract
104	with other public or private agencies for the delivery of
105	services related to the programs created under this section.
106	(11)  The program must include comprehensive victim
107	services in order to ensure the safety of victims upon the
108	release of an inmate under the program.
109	(12)  The department shall adopt rules to administer this
110	section.
111	Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.

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