This bill proposes significant updates to the Arizona Revised Statutes regarding parole eligibility for individuals sentenced for offenses committed as juveniles. Under the new provisions, individuals who were sentenced to serve twenty-five years or more for offenses committed when they were under eighteen and have completed at least fifteen years of their sentence would be eligible for parole. The bill mandates that these individuals have the right to a parole hearing, which they must attend unless they waive this right. The board of executive clemency is required to consider various mitigating factors during the hearing, including the individual's age at the time of the offense, compliance with facility rules, completion of available programs, and evidence of rehabilitation.

Additionally, the bill introduces a presumption in favor of parole release for eligible individuals, which can only be rebutted by evidence of a continued threat to public safety. It also stipulates that if parole is denied, the board must provide written reasons for the denial and ensure the individual remains eligible for annual parole hearings. Furthermore, when sentencing juveniles convicted as adults, the court is granted the discretion to impose sentences less than the minimum required by law, while explicitly prohibiting sentences such as death, natural life, de facto life, and life without the possibility of parole.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 31-419