Present law authorizes the commissioner of correction to certify as eligible for parole, a chronically debilitated or incapacitated inmate who meets all of the following requirements:  Is at least 70.  Has served a minimum of five years in custody.  Is not serving a sentence for a violent sexual offense or more than one conviction for first degree murder, or facilitation of first degree murder.  Is not serving a sentence of imprisonment for life without possibility of parole.  Has two sworn statements from physicians, at least one of whom is the department of correction's director of medical services, certifying that the condition of the inmate is chronic, incurable, and will likely result in the inmate's death. This bill rewrites the provisions above to, instead, authorize the commissioner to certify as eligible for parole an inmate who meets all of the following requirements:  Is at least 55.  Has served a minimum of 10 years in custody.  Is not serving a sentence for a violent sexual offense or more than one conviction for first degree murder, or facilitation of first degree murder.  Is not serving a sentence of imprisonment for life without possibility of parole. FURLOUGHS Present law provides that, upon the medical recommendation of the departmental director of medical services, accompanied by a notarized report of the attending physician and the security recommendation of the head of the institution, the commissioner may grant a furlough of indeterminate duration to eligible inmates. However, this provision only applies to inmates who, due to the inmate's chronically debilitated or incapacitated medical condition, have a medical prognosis of mortality within one year or less, or are no longer able to take care of themselves in a prison environment due to severe physical or psychological deterioration. This bill removes the provision of the inmate no longer being able to care for themselves and, instead, authorizes inmates who are no longer able to perform at least one of the activities of daily living in a prison environment to qualify for furlough due to their medical condition.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 40-35-501, 41-21-227