§ 15-22-26 — Standards for Release of Prisoners on Parole

(a) No prisoner shall be released on parole merely as a reward for good conduct or efficient performance of duties assigned in prison, but only if the Board of Pardons and Paroles is of the opinion that the prisoner meets criteria and guidelines established by the board to determine a prisoner’s fitness for parole and to ensure public safety. The guidelines shall serve as an aid in the parole process and shall promote the use of prison space for the most violent and greatest risk offenders, while recognizing that the board’s paramount duty is to protect public safety. The guidelines shall be structured, actuarially based, reviewed every three years by the board, after a specified open comment period determined by the board, and posted on the website of the board and include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) The prisoner’s risk to reoffend, based upon a validated risk and needs assessment as defined in Section 12-25-32.
(2) Progress by the prisoner and the Department of Corrections to plan for reentry.
(3) Input from the victim or victims, the family of the victim or victims, prosecutors, and law enforcement entities.
(4) Participation in risk-reduction programs while incarcerated.
(5) Institutional behavior of the prisoner while incarcerated.
(6) Severity of the underlying offense for which the prisoner was sentenced to incarceration.
(b) Except as provided in Section 15-22-37, if the board grants a prisoner parole, the prisoner shall be released from prison upon the terms and conditions set by the board, and while released on parole, shall remain in the legal custody of the warden of the prison from which he or she is paroled until the expiration of the maximum term specified in his or her sentence or until he or she is fully pardoned.
(c) The board shall clearly articulate its reasons for approval or denial of parole for each prisoner, based on its established guidelines, and shall provide the reasons for approval or denial to the prisoner, the victim, the Department of Corrections, or any other interested party upon written request submitted to the board. The use of established guidelines for parole consideration shall not create a right or expectation by a prisoner to parole release. Additionally, the articulated reasons for denial of parole release shall not create a right or expectation for parole release. The guidelines shall serve as an aid in the parole decisionmaking process, and the decision concerning parole release shall be at the complete discretion of the board.

Legislative History

(Acts 1939, No. 275, p. 426; Code 1940, T. 42, §7; Acts 1951, No. 599, p. 1030; Act 2015-185, p. 476, §3; Act 2019-393, §1.)