Bill Text: NY S02308 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires the use of risk and needs assessments in parole decisions; provides a process permitting incarcerated individuals to correct verifiable factual mistakes or errors in their risk and needs assessments or other non-confidential documents given the board prior to their appearances.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO CRIME VICTIMS, CRIME AND CORRECTION [S02308 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S02308-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2308 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 19, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sen. MYRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and Correction AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to the use of risk and needs principles in parole decisions The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 259-c of the executive law, as 2 amended by chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as 3 follows: 4 4. establish written procedures for its use in making parole decisions 5 as required by law. Such written procedures shall incorporate risk and 6 needs principles to measure the rehabilitation of persons appearing 7 before the board, the likelihood of success of such persons upon 8 release, and [assist] shall be used by members of the state board of 9 parole in determining which incarcerated individuals may be released to 10 parole supervision. Such principles shall provide the basis upon which 11 the board shall determine if there is a reasonable probability that, if 12 such incarcerated individual is released, he or she will live and remain 13 at liberty without violating the law. Procedures which incorporate risk 14 and needs principles shall include, but shall not be limited to, a risk 15 and needs assessment prepared pursuant to section one hundred twelve of 16 the correction law or other validated risk and needs assessment instru- 17 ment adopted by the board to determine whether or not an incarcerated 18 individual is likely to re-offend upon release from incarceration. Such 19 risk and needs assessment shall comprise presumptive evidence of the 20 incarcerated individual's risk of re-offense. Should the board choose to 21 override such risk and needs assessment in deciding whether or not an 22 incarcerated individual will live and remain at liberty without violat- 23 ing the law, its decision must provide a detailed, individualized and 24 nonconclusory statement as to its reasons for departing from the risk EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD04129-01-3S. 2308 2 1 and needs assessment findings which shall be subject to judicial review. 2 Such override decision shall not be based solely on information relating 3 to the instant offense and/or the pre-sentencing report for such 4 offense. Pursuant to subdivision eleven of this section, the board shall 5 amend the rules and regulations for the conduct of its work to reflect 6 the procedures established by this subdivision; 7 § 2. Section 259-e of the executive law, as amended by chapter 322 of 8 the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows: 9 § 259-e. Institutional parole services. 1. The department shall 10 provide institutional parole services. Such services shall include prep- 11 aration of risk and needs assessments, reports and other data required 12 by the state board of parole in the exercise of its functions with 13 respect to release on presumptive release, parole, conditional release 14 or post-release supervision of incarcerated individuals. Additionally, 15 the department shall determine which incarcerated individuals are in 16 need of a deaf language interpreter or an English language interpreter, 17 and shall inform the board of such need within a reasonable period of 18 time prior to an incarcerated individual's scheduled appearance before 19 the board. Employees of the department who collect data, interview 20 incarcerated individuals and prepare reports for the state board of 21 parole in institutions under the jurisdiction of the department shall 22 work under the direct supervision of the deputy commissioner of the 23 department in charge of program services. Data and reports submitted to 24 the board shall address the statutory factors to be considered by the 25 board pursuant to the relevant provisions of section two hundred fifty- 26 nine-i of this article. 27 2. Two months prior to a parole board appearance, an incarcerated 28 individual shall be permitted to review his or her risk and needs 29 assessment, reports and any other non-confidential documents to be given 30 to the board with the department employee charged with preparing such 31 assessment, reports and documents, and may ask for any such assessment, 32 report or document prepared by the department to be corrected if it 33 contains factual mistakes or other errors. The department shall imme- 34 diately review the incarcerated individual's records and any evidence 35 offered in support of the incarcerated individual's contention that 36 there is a factual mistake or other error in his or her records. Upon 37 confirmation that such mistake or error has been made, the department 38 shall immediately correct such mistake or error prior to submitting such 39 assessment, record or document to the board. If the department decides 40 not to correct an alleged mistake or error, the incarcerated individual 41 shall be notified of his or her right to submit evidence about any 42 uncorrected mistake or uncorrected error to the board and may appeal the 43 decision within fifteen days of the department's decision not to correct 44 the mistake or error. The commissioner shall decide any such appeal 45 within thirty days of receipt of the appeal, but no later than two weeks 46 before an incarcerated individual's scheduled appearance before the 47 parole board. 48 3. If a substantial mistake or error exists in the risk and needs 49 assessment or in other reports or documents provided to the board for 50 use at a parole interview and the incarcerated individual is subsequent- 51 ly denied parole, the incarcerated individual shall be given a de novo 52 parole interview within two months of the discovery of such mistake or 53 error. A substantial mistake or error for the purposes of this subdivi- 54 sion is any mistake or error that worsens the incarcerated individual's 55 overall score on his or her risk and needs assessment.S. 2308 3 1 § 3. Subparagraph (A) of paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of section 2 259-i of the executive law, as amended by chapter 322 of the laws of 3 2021, is amended to read as follows: 4 (A) Discretionary release on parole shall not be granted merely as a 5 reward for good conduct or efficient performance of duties while 6 confined but after considering if there is a reasonable probability 7 that, if such incarcerated individual is released, he or she will live 8 and remain at liberty without violating the law, and that his or her 9 release is not incompatible with the welfare of society and will not so 10 deprecate the seriousness of his or her crime as to undermine respect 11 for law. In making the parole release decision, the procedures, rules 12 and regulations incorporating risk and needs principles adopted pursuant 13 to subdivision four of section two hundred fifty-nine-c of this article 14 shall require that the following be considered if not already taken into 15 account by the risk and needs assessment: (i) the institutional record 16 including program goals and accomplishments, academic achievements, 17 vocational education, training or work assignments, therapy and inter- 18 actions with staff and incarcerated individuals; (ii) performance, if 19 any, as a participant in a temporary release program; (iii) release 20 plans including community resources, employment, education and training 21 and support services available to the incarcerated individual; (iv) any 22 deportation order issued by the federal government against the incarcer- 23 ated individual while in the custody of the department and any recommen- 24 dation regarding deportation made by the commissioner of the department 25 pursuant to section one hundred forty-seven of the correction law; (v) 26 any current or prior statement made to the board by the crime victim or 27 the victim's representative, where the crime victim is deceased or is 28 mentally or physically incapacitated; (vi) the length of the determinate 29 sentence to which the incarcerated individual would be subject had he or 30 she received a sentence pursuant to section 70.70 or section 70.71 of 31 the penal law for a felony defined in article two hundred twenty or 32 article two hundred twenty-one of the penal law; (vii) the seriousness 33 of the offense with due consideration to the type of sentence, length of 34 sentence and recommendations of the sentencing court, the district 35 attorney, the attorney for the incarcerated individual, the pre-sentence 36 probation report as well as consideration of any mitigating and aggra- 37 vating factors, and activities following arrest prior to confinement; 38 and (viii) prior criminal record, including the nature and pattern of 39 offenses, adjustment to any previous probation or parole supervision and 40 institutional confinement. The board shall provide toll free telephone 41 access for crime victims. In the case of an oral statement made in 42 accordance with subdivision one of section 440.50 of the criminal proce- 43 dure law, the parole board member shall present a written report of the 44 statement to the parole board. A crime victim's representative shall 45 mean the crime victim's closest surviving relative, the committee or 46 guardian of such person, or the legal representative of any such person. 47 Such statement submitted by the victim or victim's representative may 48 include information concerning threatening or intimidating conduct 49 toward the victim, the victim's representative, or the victim's family, 50 made by the person sentenced and occurring after the sentencing. Such 51 information may include, but need not be limited to, the threatening or 52 intimidating conduct of any other person who or which is directed by the 53 person sentenced. Any statement by a victim or the victim's represen- 54 tative made to the board shall be maintained by the department in the 55 file provided to the board when interviewing the incarcerated individual 56 in consideration of release. A victim or victim's representative who hasS. 2308 4 1 submitted a written request to the department for the transcript of such 2 interview shall be provided such transcript as soon as it becomes avail- 3 able. 4 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
