Florida Senate - 2012 CS for SB 212
By the Committee on Criminal Justice; and Senator Oelrich
591-03214-12 2012212c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to juvenile offenders; providing a
3 short title; providing definitions; providing that a
4 juvenile offender who was younger than 18 years of age
5 at the time of commission of a nonhomicide offense and
6 who is sentenced to life imprisonment is eligible for
7 resentencing if the offender has been incarcerated for
8 a minimum period; requiring an initial resentencing
9 hearing to determine whether the juvenile offender has
10 demonstrated maturity and reform for resentencing;
11 providing criteria to determine maturity and reform;
12 requiring a minimum term of probation for any juvenile
13 offender resentenced by the court; providing
14 consequences for probation violations; providing
15 eligibility for a subsequent resentencing hearing
16 after a specified period for juvenile offenders denied
17 resentencing; providing an effective date.
18
19 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20
21 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Graham Compliance
22 Act.”
23 Section 2. Juvenile offender resentencing.—
24 (1) As used in this section, the term:
25 (a) “Juvenile offender” means an offender who was younger
26 than 18 years of age at the time the nonhomicide offense was
27 committed.
28 (b) “Nonhomicide offense” means an offense that did not
29 result in the death of a human being.
30 (2) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, a
31 juvenile offender who is sentenced to life imprisonment for a
32 nonhomicide offense may be eligible for resentencing as provided
33 in this section.
34 (3) Before a juvenile offender may be eligible for
35 resentencing under this section, she or he must have served 25
36 years of incarceration for the offense for which resentencing is
37 sought. The initial resentencing hearing and any subsequent
38 resentencing hearing may occur only if the juvenile offender has
39 received no approved disciplinary reports for at least 3 years
40 before the scheduled resentencing hearing.
41 (4) The Department of Corrections shall screen juvenile
42 offenders committed to the department for their eligibility to
43 participate in a resentencing hearing using the criteria in
44 subsection (3). If a juvenile offender meets the eligibility
45 requirements, the department shall request the court of original
46 jurisdiction to hold a resentencing hearing for that juvenile.
47 (5) In determining whether a juvenile offender has
48 demonstrated maturity and reform and whether she or he should be
49 resentenced, the court conducting a resentencing hearing must
50 consider all of the following:
51 (a) Whether the juvenile offender poses the same level of
52 risk to society as at the time of initial sentencing.
53 (b) The wishes of the victim or the opinions of the
54 victim’s next of kin. The absence of the victim or victim’s next
55 of kin from the resentencing hearing may not be a factor in the
56 court’s determination under this section.
57 (c) Whether the juvenile offender was a relatively minor
58 participant in the criminal offense or acted under extreme
59 duress or domination of another person.
60 (d) Whether the juvenile offender has shown sincere and
61 sustained remorse for the criminal offense.
62 (e) Whether the juvenile offender’s age, maturity, and
63 psychological development at the time of the offense affected
64 her or his behavior.
65 (f) Whether the juvenile offender, while in the custody of
66 the department, has aided inmates suffering from catastrophic or
67 terminal medical, mental, or physical conditions or has
68 prevented risk or injury to staff, citizens, or other inmates.
69 (g) Whether the juvenile offender has successfully
70 completed any General Educational Development or other
71 educational, technical, work, vocational, or self-rehabilitation
72 program.
73 (h) Whether the juvenile offender was a victim of sexual,
74 physical, or emotional abuse before she or he committed the
75 offense.
76 (i) The results of any mental health assessment, risk
77 assessment, or evaluation of the juvenile offender.
78 (j) The facts and circumstances of the offense for which
79 the life sentence was imposed, including the severity of the
80 offense.
81 (k) Any factor that the sentencing court may have taken
82 into account at the initial sentencing hearing in relation to
83 all other considerations listed in this section which may be
84 relevant to the court’s determination.
85 (6) If the court determines at the resentencing hearing
86 that the juvenile offender can reasonably be believed to be fit
87 to reenter society, the court must issue an order modifying the
88 sentence imposed and placing the offender on probation for a
89 term of at least 5 years. If the juvenile offender violates the
90 conditions of her or his probation, the court may revoke
91 probation and impose any sentence that it might have originally
92 imposed and the juvenile offender is no longer eligible for a
93 resentencing hearing pursuant to this section.
94 (7) A juvenile offender who is not resentenced under this
95 section at the initial resentencing hearing is eligible for a
96 resentencing hearing 7 years after the date of the denial and
97 every 7 years thereafter.
98 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.