CS/HB 23

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to parole for adolescent offenders;
3	providing a short title; amending s. 947.16, F.S.;
4	providing definitions; providing that an adolescent
5	offender who was 15 years of age or younger at the time of
6	commission of an offense and who is sentenced to life or a
7	single or cumulative term of 10 years or more in prison is
8	eligible for parole if the offender has been incarcerated
9	for a minimum period, has not previously been convicted of
10	or adjudicated delinquent for certain offenses, and did
11	not commit an act of violence or threaten to commit an act
12	of violence during the commission of the current offense;
13	requiring an initial eligibility interview to determine
14	whether the adolescent offender has been sufficiently
15	rehabilitated for parole; providing criteria to determine
16	sufficient rehabilitation; providing eligibility for a
17	reinterview after a specified period for adolescent
18	offenders denied parole; providing that the adolescent
19	offender be incarcerated in a facility that has a GED
20	program; providing that if the adolescent offender is
21	granted parole, the adolescent offender must participate
22	in any available reentry program for 2 years; defining the
23	term "reentry program"; providing priority for certain
24	programs; providing for eligibility for an initial
25	eligibility interview for offenders in their eighth or
26	subsequent year of incarceration on the effective date of
27	the act; providing for retroactive application; providing
28	an effective date.
29
30	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
31
32	Section 1.  This act may be cited as the "Second Chance for
33	Children in Prison Act."
34	Section 2.  Subsections (2) through (6) of section 947.16,
35	Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (3) through (7),
36	respectively, and a new subsection (2) is added to that section
37	to read:
38	947.16  Eligibility for parole; initial parole interviews;
39	powers and duties of commission; adolescent offender
40	eligibility.-
41	(2)(a)  As used in this subsection, the term:
42	1.  "Adolescent offender" means an offender who was 15
43	years of age or younger at the time the criminal act was
44	committed and was sentenced to life or to a single or cumulative
45	term of imprisonment of 10 years or more.
46	2.  "Current offense" means the offense for which the
47	adolescent offender is being considered for parole and any other
48	crimes committed by the adolescent offender within a 1-month
49	period of that offense, or for which sentences run concurrent to
50	that offense.
51	(b)  Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) or of
52	any other law to the contrary, an adolescent offender may be
53	eligible for parole as provided in this subsection.
54	(c)  An adolescent offender is ineligible under this
55	subsection if she or he:
56	1.  Before conviction of the current offense, was convicted
57	of or adjudicated delinquent for any violation of:
58	a.  Section 782.04, entitled "Murder";
59	b.  Section 784.041, entitled "Felony battery; domestic
60	battery by strangulation";
61	c.  Section 784.045, entitled "Aggravated battery";
62	d.  Section 784.07, entitled "Assault or battery of law
63	enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical care
64	providers, public transit employees or agents, or other
65	specified officers; reclassification of offenses; minimum
66	sentences";
67	e.  Section 784.08, entitled "Assault or battery on persons
68	65 years of age or older; reclassification of offenses; minimum
69	sentence";
70	f.  Section 787.01, entitled "Kidnapping; kidnapping of
71	child under age 13, aggravating circumstances";
72	g.  Section 790.07, entitled "Persons engaged in criminal
73	offense, having weapons";
74	h.  Section 794.011, entitled "Sexual battery";
75	i.  Section 812.133, entitled "Carjacking";
76	j.  Section 812.135, entitled "Home-invasion robbery";
77	k.  Section 827.03, entitled "Abuse, aggravated abuse, and
78	neglect of a child; penalties"; or
79	l.  Section 828.12(2), entitled "Cruelty to animals."
80	2.  During the commission of the current offense, committed
81	an act of violence or threatened to commit an act of violence.
82	(d)  Before an adolescent offender may be granted parole
83	under this subsection, she or he must have an initial
84	eligibility interview to determine whether she or he has been
85	sufficiently rehabilitated while in the custody of the
86	department to justify granting parole. The initial eligibility
87	interview will occur in the eighth year of incarceration. In
88	order to determine if the adolescent offender has been
89	sufficiently rehabilitated, she or he must have successfully
90	completed the General Educational Development (GED) program
91	unless waived based on disability and have received no approved
92	disciplinary reports for a period of at least 2 years
93	immediately prior to the current eligibility interview. The
94	hearing examiner must also take into serious consideration the
95	wishes of the victim or the opinions of the victim's next of kin
96	and consider:
97	1.  Whether the adolescent offender was a principal to the
98	criminal offense or an accomplice to the offense, a relatively
99	minor participant in the criminal offense, or acted under
100	extreme duress or domination of another person.
101	2.  Whether the adolescent offender has shown remorse for
102	the criminal offense.
103	3.  Whether the adolescent offender's age, maturity, and
104	psychological development at the time of the offense affected
105	her or his behavior.
106	4.  Whether the adolescent offender, while in the custody
107	of the department, has aided inmates suffering from catastrophic
108	or terminal medical, mental, or physical conditions or has
109	prevented risk or injury to staff, citizens, or other inmates.
110	5.  Whether the adolescent offender has successfully
111	completed educational, technical, or vocational programs and any
112	available self-rehabilitation programs.
113	6.  Whether the adolescent offender was a victim of sexual,
114	physical, or emotional abuse.
115	7.  The results of any mental health assessment or
116	evaluation that has been performed on the adolescent offender.
117	(e)  An adolescent offender who is not granted parole under
118	this subsection after an initial eligibility interview shall be
119	eligible for a reinterview 7 years after the date of the denial
120	of the grant of parole and every 7 years thereafter.
121	(f)  An adolescent offender must serve her or his sentence
122	in a facility that has a General Educational Development (GED)
123	program unless the adolescent offender has already successfully
124	completed a GED program.
125	(g)  If the adolescent offender is granted parole, the
126	adolescent offender must participate in any available reentry
127	program for 2 years. As used in this paragraph, the term
128	"reentry program" means a program that promotes effective
129	reintegration of adolescent offenders back into communities upon
130	release and provides one or more of the following: vocational
131	training, placement services, transitional housing, mentoring,
132	or drug rehabilitation. Priority shall be given to those reentry
133	programs that are residential, highly structured, self-reliant,
134	and therapeutic communities.
135	Section 3.  An adolescent offender, as defined in s.
136	947.16(2)(a), Florida Statutes, as created by this act, who is
137	in her or his eighth or subsequent year of incarceration on the
138	effective date of this act must receive an initial eligibility
139	interview as provided in s. 947.16(2)(d), Florida Statutes, as
140	created by this act, if she or he is otherwise eligible.
141	Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law,
142	and applies with respect to offenses committed before, on, or
143	after that date.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.