Senate Bill 2843

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 99-5-39, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE POSTING OF BOND AS A CONDITION OF PAROLE OR EARLY RELEASE TO SECURE THE APPEARANCE OF A DEFENDANT FOR A SUBSEQUENT PAROLE OR COURT PROCEEDING; TO AMEND SECTION 47-7-17, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 99-5-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

99-5-39. (1) As a condition of any probation, community control, payment plan for any fine imposed or any other court ordered supervision, the court may order the posting of a bond to secure the appearance of the defendant at any subsequent court proceeding or to otherwise enforce the orders of the court. As a condition of any parole or early release allowed by the Department of Corrections, the court or the parole board may order the posting of a bond to secure the appearance of the defendant at any subsequent parole or court proceeding or to otherwise enforce the orders of the parole board or the court. The appearance bond shall be filed by a duly licensed professional bail agent with the parole board, the court or with the sheriff who shall provide a copy to the clerk of the court.

(2) The court or the parole board may issue an order sua sponte or upon notice by the clerk or the parole or probation officer that the person has violated the terms of early release, parole, probation, community control, court ordered supervision or other applicable court order to produce the defendant. The parole board, the court or the clerk of the court shall give the bail agent a minimum of a seventy-two-hour notice to have the defendant before the court. If the bail agent fails to produce the defendant in court or to the sheriff at the time noticed by the parole board, court or the clerk of the court, the bond shall be forfeited according to the procedures set forth in Section 99-5-25. The defendant's failure to appear shall be the sole grounds for forfeiture of the appearance bond.

(3) The provisions of Sections 83-39-1 et seq. and 99-5-1 et seq. shall govern the relationship between the parties except where they are inconsistent with this section.

SECTION 2. Section 47-7-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

47-7-17. Within one (1) year after his admission and at such intervals thereafter as it may determine, the board shall secure and consider all pertinent information regarding each offender, except any under sentence of death or otherwise ineligible for parole, including the circumstances of his offense, his previous social history, his previous criminal record, including any records of law enforcement agencies or of a youth court regarding that offender's juvenile criminal history, his conduct, employment and attitude while in the custody of the department, and the reports of such physical and mental examinations as have been made. The board shall furnish at least three (3) months' written notice to each such offender of the date on which he is eligible for parole.

Before ruling on the application for parole of any offender, the board may have the offender appear before it and interview him. The hearing shall be held two (2) months prior to the month of eligibility in order for the department to address any special conditions required by the board. No application for parole of a person convicted of a capital offense shall be considered by the board unless and until notice of the filing of such application shall have been published at least once a week for two (2) weeks in a newspaper published in or having general circulation in the county in which the crime was committed. The board shall also give notice of the filing of the application for parole to the victim of the offense for which the prisoner is incarcerated and being considered for parole or, in case the offense be homicide, a designee of the immediate family of the victim, provided the victim or designated family member has furnished in writing a current address to the board for such purpose. A parole shall be ordered only for the best interest of society, not as an award of clemency; it shall not be considered to be a reduction of sentence or pardon. An offender shall be placed on parole only when arrangements have been made for his proper employment or for his maintenance and care, and when the board believes that he is able and willing to fulfill the obligations of a law-abiding citizen. Within forty-eight (48) hours prior to the release of an offender on parole, the Director of Records of the department shall give the written notice which is required pursuant to Section 47-5-177. Every offender while on parole shall remain in the legal custody of the department from which he was released and shall be amenable to the orders of the board. The board, upon rejecting the application for parole of any offender, shall within thirty (30) days following such rejection furnish that offender in general terms the reasons therefor in writing. Upon determination by the board that an offender is eligible for release by parole, notice shall also be given by the board to the victim of the offense or the victim's family member, as indicated above, regarding the date when the offender's release shall occur, provided a current address of the victim or the victim's family member has been furnished in writing to the board for such purpose.

Failure to provide notice to the victim or the victim's family member of the filing of the application for parole or of any decision made by the board regarding parole shall not

constitute grounds for vacating an otherwise lawful parole determination nor shall it create any right or liability, civilly or criminally, against the board or any member thereof.

A letter of protest against granting an offender parole shall not be treated as the conclusive and only reason for not granting parole.

The board may adopt such other rules not inconsistent with law as it may deem proper or necessary with respect to the eligibility of offenders for parole, the conduct of parole hearings, or conditions to be imposed upon parolees, including a condition that the parolee submit, as provided in Section 47-5-601 to any type of breath, saliva or urine chemical analysis test, the purpose of which is to detect the possible presence of alcohol or a substance prohibited or controlled by any law of the State of Mississippi or the United States. The board is authorized to require the posting of bond as a condition of any parole or early release as provided in Section 99-5-39. The board shall have the authority to adopt rules permitting certain offenders to be placed on unsupervised parole. However, in no case shall an offender be placed on unsupervised parole before he has served a minimum of three (3) years of supervised parole.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2012.