HB 1317 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to youthful offenders; creating s.
3	958.041, F.S.; authorizing the court to sentence offenders
4	of a specified age or younger to a youthful offender
5	facility of the Department of Corrections if the offender
6	is found guilty of, or pleads nolo contendere or guilty
7	to, a first-degree felony, a life felony, or a capital
8	felony; providing certain additional requirements and
9	limitations with respect to sentencing such an offender;
10	requiring that the offender be incarcerated in the
11	department facility until the offender attains a specified
12	age or serves a specified sentence; requiring that the
13	sentencing court hold a hearing to determine whether the
14	offender is rehabilitated to an extent sufficient to be
15	released to a specified term of intense community
16	supervision; providing factors for the court to consider
17	in making such determination; requiring that the
18	department supervise an offender released on community
19	supervision under the act; providing for revocation of
20	community supervision; providing for the offender to be
21	discharged from the control and supervision of the
22	department following successful completion of the term of
23	intense community supervision; amending s. 958.04, F.S.;
24	conforming provisions to changes made by the act;
25	providing an effective date.
26
27	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
28
29	Section 1. Section 958.041, Florida Statutes, is created
30	to read:
31	958.041 Judicial disposition of youthful offenders 15
32	years of age or younger who have committed certain serious
33	offenses.--
34	(1) Notwithstanding any other law, the court may sentence
35	a youthful offender under this section if:
36	(a) The offender is 15 years of age or younger at the time
37	of the offense;
38	(b) The offender is found guilty of, or has tendered and
39	the court has accepted a plea of nolo contendere or guilty to, a
40	felony of the first degree, a life felony, or a capital felony;
41	(c) The sentence that is recommended under the Criminal
42	Punishment Code for the offense committed exceeds 10 years;
43	(d) The offender has no prior adjudication for a violation
44	of:
45	1. Any offense specified in s. 775.084(1)(b)1.;
46	2. Section 784.03, relating to battery;
47	3. Section 827.03, relating to child abuse; or
48	4. Section 828.12, relating to cruelty to animals; and
49	(e) The crime was not:
50	1. Heinous, atrocious, or cruel, as evidenced by the
51	suffering of the victim; or
52	2. Premeditated, as evidenced by deliberate planning or
53	preparation.
54	(2) Any youthful offender sentenced under this section
55	shall be incarcerated in a department facility for youthful
56	offenders until the offender is 24 years of age or has served 10
57	years of incarceration, whichever period is longer. The
58	department shall provide the offender with enhanced vocational
59	and educational training, counseling, and substance-abuse
60	treatment designed to rehabilitate the offender so that he or
61	she may successfully reenter society and will abide by the laws
62	of this state. The department shall maintain a detailed record
63	of the offender's progress and attitude in all areas relevant to
64	his or her rehabilitation.
65	(3)(a) Upon reaching 24 years of age or serving 10 years
66	of incarceration, whichever period is longer, the offender shall
67	be returned to the sentencing court for a hearing to determine
68	whether the offender has been sufficiently rehabilitated to the
69	extent that he or she can be released on community supervision.
70	If the court finds that the offender has been sufficiently
71	rehabilitated, the offender shall be released on a 10-year term
72	of intense community supervision. If the court finds that the
73	offender has failed to achieve sufficient rehabilitation, the
74	offender shall be sentenced to any legal sentence that could
75	have been imposed at the time of the original disposition of the
76	case, with credit for time served. Factors to be considered by
77	the court include, but are not limited to, the offender's
78	conduct and behavior while incarcerated, the offender's
79	attainment of educational and vocational achievement goals, the
80	circumstances of the offense committed, the considerations of
81	the victim, the plan for the offender to work and reside in the
82	community, and the opinion of any expert the court appoints to
83	evaluate the offender's ability or potential to succeed in the
84	community.
85	(b) The department shall provide each offender released on
86	community supervision under this section with the opportunity to
87	prove that he or she can abide by the laws of this state and be
88	a productive member of society. If the offender violates the
89	terms or conditions of community supervision, the court may
90	revoke the offender's supervision, modify the terms or
91	conditions of supervision, or sentence the offender to any legal
92	sentence that could have been imposed at the time of the
93	original disposition of the case, with credit for time served.
94	Upon successful completion of the 10-year term of intense
95	community supervision, the rehabilitated offender shall be
96	discharged from the control and supervision of the department.
97	Section 2. Section 958.04, Florida Statutes, is amended to
98	read:
99	958.04 Judicial disposition of youthful offenders 18 years
100	of age or older.--
101	(1) The court may sentence as a youthful offender any
102	person:
103	(a) Who is at least 18 years of age or who has been
104	transferred for prosecution to the criminal division of the
105	circuit court pursuant to chapter 985;
106	(b) Who is found guilty of or who has tendered, and the
107	court has accepted, a plea of nolo contendere or guilty to a
108	crime which is, under the laws of this state, a felony if such
109	crime was committed before the defendant's 21st birthday; and
110	(c) Who has not previously been classified as a youthful
111	offender under the provisions of this act; however, except as
112	otherwise provided in s. 958.041, anoperson who has been found
113	guilty of a capital or life felony may notbe sentenced as a
114	youthful offender under this act.
115	(2) In lieu of other criminal penalties authorized by law
116	and notwithstanding any imposition of consecutive sentences, the
117	court shall dispose of the criminal case as follows:
118	(a) The court may place a youthful offender under
119	supervision on probation or in a community control program, with
120	or without an adjudication of guilt, under such conditions as
121	the court may lawfully impose for a period of not more than 6
122	years. Such period of supervision shall not exceed the maximum
123	sentence for the offense for which the youthful offender was
124	found guilty.
125	(b) The court may impose a period of incarceration as a
126	condition of probation or community control, which period of
127	incarceration shall be served in either a county facility, a
128	department probation and restitution center, or a community
129	residential facility which is owned and operated by any public
130	or private entity providing such services. No youthful offender
131	may be required to serve a period of incarceration in a
132	community correctional center as defined in s. 944.026.
133	Admission to a department facility or center shall be contingent
134	upon the availability of bed space and shall take into account
135	the purpose and function of such facility or center. Placement
136	in such a facility or center shall not exceed 364 days.
137	(c) The court may impose a split sentence whereby the
138	youthful offender is to be placed on probation or community
139	control upon completion of any specified period of
140	incarceration; however, if the incarceration period is to be
141	served in a department facility other than a probation and
142	restitution center or community residential facility, such
143	period shall be for not less than 1 year or more than 4 years.
144	The period of probation or community control shall commence
145	immediately upon the release of the youthful offender from
146	incarceration. The period of incarceration imposed or served
147	and the period of probation or community control, when added
148	together, shall not exceed 6 years.
149	(d) The court may commit the youthful offender to the
150	custody of the department for a period of not more than 6 years,
151	provided that any such commitment shall not exceed the maximum
152	sentence for the offense for which the youthful offender has
153	been convicted. Successful participation in the youthful
154	offender program by an offender who is sentenced as a youthful
155	offender by the court pursuant to this section, or is classified
156	as such by the department, may result in a recommendation to the
157	court, by the department, for a modification or early
158	termination of probation, community control, or the sentence at
159	any time prior to the scheduled expiration of such term. When a
160	modification of the sentence results in the reduction of a term
161	of incarceration, the court may impose a term of probation or
162	community control which, when added to the term of
163	incarceration, shall not exceed the original sentence imposed.
164	(3) The provisions of this section shall not be used to
165	impose a greater sentence than the permissible sentence range as
166	established by the Criminal Punishment Code pursuant to chapter
167	921 unless reasons are explained in writing by the trial court
168	judge which reasonably justify departure. A sentence imposed
169	outside of the code is subject to appeal pursuant to s. 924.06
170	or s. 924.07.
171	(4) Due to severe prison overcrowding, the Legislature
172	declares the construction of a basic training program facility
173	is necessary to aid in alleviating an emergency situation.
174	(5) The department shall provide a special training
175	program for staff selected for the basic training program.
176	Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2003.