§ 40-28-505 — Parole

(a) Within ninety (90) days of receipt by the department of correction of a valid judgment of conviction, the department shall notify the victim witness coordinator of the county of conviction of the currently scheduled parole hearing date when the inmate will be eligible for parole consideration. (b) At least thirty (30) days prior to a scheduled parole hearing and three (3) days prior to a parole revocation hearing conducted pursuant to § 40-28-122 , the board of parole shall send a notice of the date and place of the hearing to the following individuals: (1) The trial judge for the court in which the conviction occurred, or the trial judge's successor; (2) The district attorney general in the county in which the crime was prosecuted; (3) The sheriff of the county in which the crime was committed; and (4) The victim or the victim's representative who has requested notification of the date and place of the scheduled hearing or notice of the board's final decision. However, at any time, the victim or victim's representative may withdraw the request for notice by sending the board a written notarized statement that the request for notice is withdrawn or, if the victim or victim's representative is registered with the state's electronic victim notification system, by cancelling that registration in the system. (c) No later than thirty (30) days after a parole or parole revocation decision has been finalized, the board shall send notice of its decision to those required to receive notice under subsection (b), together with notice that any victim whom the board failed to notify as required in subsection (b) has the opportunity to have a written victim impact statement considered by the board, pursuant to subsection (d). (d) The following remedies apply if there is a failure to provide the required advance notice: (1) Prior to a parole or parole revocation hearing, a party to whom the board failed to provide the notice required in subsection (b) may request the board to postpone the scheduled hearing. Upon that request, the board may, for just cause, postpone the scheduled parole or parole revocation hearing in order to provide a reasonable opportunity for the party to attend the hearing and, if that party is a victim, to submit a victim statement; and (2) If within fifteen (15) days after a parole or a parole revocation decision has been finalized, the board receives a written victim impact statement from a party to whom the board failed to provide the notice required in subsection (b), the board shall consider the statement. If the board finds that the victim impact statement warrants a new hearing, it shall schedule the hearing, subject to all notification requirements under subsection (b). (e) Any notice required to be provided to the victim or victim's representative by this section shall be mailed to the last known address of the victim or the victim's representative unless the victim or victim's representative is registered with the state's electronic victim notification system, in which case the notice shall be communicated to the victim or victim's representative by the method or methods indicated by the registration in the system. It is the responsibility of the victim or victim's representative to provide the board a current mailing address. (f) This section shall apply only to an inmate who has received a sentence of two (2) or more years. (g) Any notice of an inmate's release on parole required to be provided to the victim or the victim's representative shall include the proposed county of residence of the inmate. (h) (1) Any identifying information concerning a crime victim or a crime victim's representative who has been notified or requested that notification be provided to the victim or the victim's representative pursuant to this section shall be confidential. (2) For purposes of subdivision (h)(1), "identifying information" means the name, home and work addresses, telephone numbers and social security number of the person being notified or requesting that notification be provided.

Legislative History

Amended by 2018 Tenn. Acts, ch. 598,Secs.s1, s2 eff. 7/1/2018. Acts 1993, ch. 336, § 5; 1997, ch. 489, § 1; 1998, ch. 1049, § 24; 1999, ch. 127, § 1; 1999, ch. 516, § 3; 2001, ch. 53, §§ 1, 2; 2006, ch. 666, § 3; 2009, ch. 176, § 2.