Parole of prisoners; conditions for eligibility; determination of tentative hearing date.

Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-3
in effect
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Every prisonerwho has been convicted of any offense against the State of Mississippi,and is confined in the execution of a judgment of such convictionin the Mississippi Department of Corrections for a definite term orterms of one (1) year or over, or for the term of his or her naturallife, whose record of conduct shows that such prisoner has observedthe rules of the department, and who has served not less than one-fourth(1/4) of the total of such term or terms for which such prisoner wassentenced, or, if sentenced to serve a term or terms of thirty (30)years or more, or, if sentenced for the term of the natural life ofsuch prisoner, has served not less than ten (10) years of such lifesentence, may be released on parole as hereinafter provided, exceptthat: No prisoner convictedas a confirmed and habitual criminal under the provisions of Sections 99-19-81 through 99-19-87 shall be eligiblefor parole; Any person whoshall have been convicted of a sex crime shall not be released onparole except for a person under the age of nineteen (19) who hasbeen convicted under Section 97-3-67; No person shallbe eligible for parole who shall, on or after January 1, 1977, beconvicted of robbery or attempted robbery through the display of afirearm until he shall have served ten (10) years if sentenced toa term or terms of more than ten (10) years or if sentenced for theterm of the natural life of such person. If such person is sentencedto a term or terms of ten (10) years or less, then such person shallnot be eligible for parole. The provisions of this paragraph (c)(i)shall also apply to any person who shall commit robbery or attemptedrobbery on or after July 1, 1982, through the display of a deadlyweapon. This paragraph (c)(i) shall not apply to persons convictedafter September 30, 1994; No person shallbe eligible for parole who shall, on or after October 1, 1994, beconvicted of robbery, attempted robbery or carjacking as providedin Section 97-3-115 et seq.,through the display of a firearm or drive-by shooting as providedin Section 97-3-109. The provisionsof this paragraph (c)(ii) shall also apply to any person who shallcommit robbery, attempted robbery, carjacking or a drive-by shootingon or after October 1, 1994, through the display of a deadly weapon.This paragraph (c)(ii) shall not apply to persons convicted afterJuly 1, 2014; No person shallbe eligible for parole who, on or after July 1, 1994, is charged,tried, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment without eligibilityfor parole under the provisions of Section 99-19-101; No person shallbe eligible for parole who is charged, tried, convicted and sentencedto life imprisonment under the provisions of Section 99-19-101; No person shallbe eligible for parole who is convicted or whose suspended sentenceis revoked after June 30, 1995, except that an offender convictedof only nonviolent crimes after June 30, 1995, may be eligible forparole if the offender meets the requirements in subsection (1) andthis paragraph. In addition to other requirements, if an offenderis convicted of a drug or driving under the influence felony, theoffender must complete a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program priorto parole or the offender may be required to complete a post-releasedrug and alcohol program as a condition of parole. For purposes ofthis paragraph, “nonviolent crime” means a felony otherthan homicide, robbery, manslaughter, sex crimes, arson, burglaryof an occupied dwelling, aggravated assault, kidnapping, feloniousabuse of vulnerable adults, felonies with enhanced penalties, except enhanced penalties for the crime of possessionof a controlled substance under Section 41-29-147, the sale or manufacture of a controlled substance under the UniformControlled Substances Law, felony child abuse, or exploitation orany crime under Section 97-5-33 or Section 97-5-39(2) or 97-5-39(1)(b), 97-5-39(1)(c) or a violationof Section 63-11-30(5). In addition,an offender incarcerated for committing the crime of possession ofa controlled substance under the Uniform Controlled Substances Lawafter July 1, 1995, including an offenderwho receives an enhanced penalty under the provisions of Section 41-29-147 for suchpossession, shall be eligible for parole. An offenderincarcerated for committing the crime of sale or manufacture of acontrolled substance shall be eligible for parole after serving one-fourth(1/4) of the sentence imposed by the trial court. This paragraph (f)shall not apply to persons convicted on or after July 1, 2014; 1. The inmate issentenced as a habitual offender under Sections 99-19-81 through 99-19-87; 2. The inmate issentenced for a crime of violence under Section 97-3-2; 3. The inmate issentenced for an offense that specifically prohibits parole release; 4. The inmate issentenced for trafficking in controlled substances under Section 41-29-139(f); 5. The inmate issentenced for a sex crime; or 6. The inmate hasnot served one-fourth (1/4) of the sentence imposed by the court. No person who,on or after July 1, 2014, is convicted of a crime of violence pursuantto Section 97-3-2, a sex crimeor an offense that specifically prohibits parole release, shall beeligible for parole. All persons convicted of any other offense onor after July 1, 2014, are eligible for parole after they have servedone-fourth (1/4) of the sentence or sentences imposed by the trialcourt. Notwithstandingthe provisions in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (g), a personserving a sentence who has reached the age of sixty (60) or olderand who has served no less than ten (10) years of the sentence orsentences imposed by the trial court shall be eligible for parole.Any person eligible for parole under this subsection shall be requiredto have a parole hearing before the board prior to parole release.No inmate shall be eligible for parole under this paragraph of thissubsection if: Notwithstandingthe provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection, any offender who has not committed a crimeof violence under Section 97-3-2 and has servedtwenty-five percent (25%) or more of his sentence may be paroled bythe parole board if, after the sentencing judge or if the sentencingjudge is retired, disabled or incapacitated, the senior circuit judgeauthorizes the offender to be eligible for parole consideration; Notwithstanding any other provision oflaw, an inmate who has not been convicted as a habitual offender under Sections 99-19-81 through 99-19-87, has not been convictedof committing a crime of violence, as defined under Section 97-3-2, has not beenconvicted of a sex crime or any other crime that specifically prohibitsparole release, and has not been convicted of drug trafficking under Section 41-29-139 is eligiblefor parole if the inmate has served twenty-five percent (25%) or moreof his or her sentence, but is otherwise ineligible for parole. Notwithstandingany other provision of law, an inmate shall not be eligible to receiveearned time, good time or any other administrative reduction of timewhich shall reduce the time necessary to be served for parole eligibilityas provided in subsection (1) of this section. The State ParoleBoard shall, by rules and regulations, establish a method of determininga tentative parole hearing date for each eligible offender taken intothe custody of the Department of Corrections. The tentative parolehearing date shall be determined within ninety (90) days after thedepartment has assumed custody of the offender. The parole hearingdate shall occur when the offender is within thirty (30) days of themonth of his parole eligibility date. The parole eligibility dateshall not be earlier than one-fourth (1/4) of the prison sentenceor sentences imposed by the court. Any inmate withintwenty-four (24) months of his parole eligibility date and who meetsthe criteria established by the classification board shall receivepriority for placement in any educational development and job trainingprograms that are part of his or her parole case plan. Any inmaterefusing to participate in an educational development or job trainingprogram that is part of the case plan may be in jeopardy of noncompliancewith the case plan and may be denied parole.

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