House File 377 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE 377
BY BAXTER, SALMON, BACON,
JENEARY, WOLFE, MITCHELL,
OSMUNDSON, LOHSE, OLSON,
SHIPLEY, MOORE, WHEELER,
BOSSMAN, A. MEYER,
ABDUL-SAMAD, BOHANNAN,
KAUFMANN, and DOLECHECK
A BILL FOR
1 An Act related to a commutation of sentence request from a
2 class “A” felon sentenced to life imprisonment without the
3 possibility of parole, establishing a life imprisonment
4 review committee to make recommendations in the case of a
5 minimum custody level applicant who has served at least
6 twenty-five years in prison, with reconsideration of a
7 sentence upon the governor’s request or inaction, and
8 providing expedited review in the case of an applicant’s
9 terminal illness and incapacitation.
10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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1 Section 1. Section 902.1, subsection 1, Code 2021, is
2 amended to read as follows:
3 1. Upon a plea of guilty, a verdict of guilty, or a special
4 verdict upon which a judgment of conviction of a class “A”
5 felony may be rendered, the court shall enter a judgment of
6 conviction and shall commit the defendant into the custody of
7 the director of the Iowa department of corrections for the
8 rest of the defendant’s life. Nothing Except as otherwise
9 provided in section 902.4A, nothing in the Iowa corrections
10 code pertaining to deferred judgment, deferred sentence,
11 suspended sentence, or reconsideration of sentence applies to
12 a class “A” felony, and a person. A defendant convicted of a
13 class “A” felony shall not be released on parole unless the
14 governor commutes the defendant’s sentence to a term of years
15 or a district court reconsiders the defendant’s sentence and
16 resentences the person into the custody of the director of the
17 department of corrections for the rest of the defendant’s life
18 with the possibility of parole pursuant to section 902.2A or
19 902.4A.
20 Sec. 2. Section 902.2, Code 2021, is amended to read as
21 follows:
22 902.2 Commutation procedure for class “A” felons.
23 A person who has been sentenced to life imprisonment under
24 section 902.1 may, no more frequently than once every ten
25 years, make an application to the governor requesting that the
26 person’s sentence be commuted to a term of years. The director
27 of the Iowa department of corrections may make a request to
28 the governor that a person’s sentence be commuted to a term of
29 years at any time. Upon receipt of a request for commutation,
30 the governor shall, within thirty days of receipt of the
31 request, send a copy of the request to the Iowa board of parole
32 for investigation and along with recommendations as to whether
33 the person should be considered for receive commutation. The
34 Within one hundred twenty days of receipt of such request, the
35 board shall conduct an interview of the class “A” felon and
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1 shall make a report of its findings and recommendations to
2 the governor. Any decision to recommend commutation shall be
3 by a majority vote of the board. Notwithstanding any other
4 provision of this section to the contrary, after the first
5 twenty-five years of a person’s sentence to life imprisonment
6 under section 902.1, if the person is, at the time of
7 application, classified as minimum security custody level, the
8 process for a request for commutation shall be as provided in
9 section 902.2A. Alternatively, an application for commutation
10 by or on behalf of any person sentenced to life imprisonment
11 under section 902.1 when the facts described in section 902.2B
12 exist shall be made and processed according to section 902.2B.
13 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 902.2A Life imprisonment review after
14 twenty-five years.
15 1. For the purposes of this section and section 902.4A:
16 a. “Applicant” means a person convicted of a class
17 “A” felony and sentenced to life imprisonment without the
18 possibility of parole.
19 b. “Committee” means the life imprisonment review committee
20 established pursuant to this section.
21 c. “Victim” means the same as defined in section 915.10.
22 2. A life imprisonment review committee is established.
23 The purpose of the committee shall be to make commutation
24 recommendations to the governor and to facilitate
25 reconsideration by the district court regarding applicants
26 under this section.
27 a. The governor shall appoint five members to the committee,
28 at least one of whom is a member of a racial minority, and two
29 alternates to the committee. Committee members and alternates
30 may include representatives from the Iowa state chapter of the
31 national association for the advancement of colored people
32 or other organizations that advocate on behalf of racial or
33 ethnic minorities, community-based organizations as defined
34 in section 7D.15, organizations focused on the reentry
35 of incarcerated individuals, the department of workforce
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1 development, the department of public safety, the office of
2 the attorney general, and a judicial district department
3 of correctional services. Members may also include county
4 attorneys, defense attorneys, law enforcement officers, retired
5 judges, retired prison officials including wardens, deputy
6 wardens, and treatment directors, criminal justice researchers
7 and educators, and clergy.
8 b. Members shall serve four-year terms except for the terms
9 of the initial members, which shall be staggered so that at
10 least one of the members’ terms expire each calendar year. A
11 member may serve up to two consecutive terms. The committee
12 shall elect a chairperson who shall serve a one-year term and
13 may be elected to two consecutive terms.
14 c. Decisions of the committee shall require a majority of
15 its members. Alternates shall be included in lieu of members
16 unable to participate so that committee deliberations always
17 include five members.
18 3. After the first twenty-five years of an applicant’s
19 sentence to life imprisonment under section 902.1, an applicant
20 who is at the time of application classified as minimum
21 security custody level may, no more than once every three
22 years, make an application to the governor requesting that
23 the applicant’s sentence be commuted to a term of years. The
24 three-year limitation shall be waived for a person submitting
25 an application under section 902.2B. Upon receipt of an
26 application, or upon a request for commutation from the
27 director of the Iowa department of corrections on behalf of
28 an applicant at any time, the governor shall, within thirty
29 days of receipt of the application or request, send a copy of
30 the application or request to the committee for investigation
31 and recommendation as to whether the applicant should
32 receive commutation. Notwithstanding any other provision
33 of law to the contrary, the governor may, before or after
34 receiving the recommendation of the committee, commute the
35 applicant’s sentence to a term of years or the district court
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1 may resentence the applicant to life imprisonment with the
2 possibility of parole pursuant to section 902.4A.
3 4. Upon receipt of an application for commutation under
4 this section, the committee shall conduct an investigation
5 concerning the applicant and the factors specified in
6 subsection 6. The department of corrections shall provide
7 the committee with access to the applicant’s case file. The
8 committee shall consider information submitted by the applicant
9 along with the applicant’s case file, any recommendations and
10 letters received on behalf of the applicant and any letters
11 from any victim of the offense for which the applicant is
12 incarcerated, and any other relevant information.
13 5. a. The committee shall set a date for a hearing, which
14 shall occur no later than one hundred twenty days after the
15 committee’s receipt of the application for commutation, to
16 determine whether to recommend the applicant for commutation.
17 However, if the one-hundred-twenty-day limit would require more
18 than two hearings in any calendar month, the committee may
19 extend this limitation by consecutive thirty-day periods as
20 necessary for the committee to hold no more than two hearings
21 per month, in the order of the date an application is received
22 and then, if necessary, in the order of greatest to least
23 amount of time served.
24 b. The committee shall notify the applicant and any
25 registered victim at least thirty days before the hearing
26 date, and the applicant and the applicant’s attorney, if
27 any, shall have the right to be present for the hearing by
28 videoconference.
29 c. The committee shall, within thirty days following the
30 hearing, make a recommendation for or against commutation of
31 the applicant’s sentence, and shall forward its recommendation
32 and report to the governor and to the board of parole. The
33 committee’s decision shall not be based upon the presence or
34 absence of any single factor listed in subsection 6. The board
35 of parole may, within thirty days of receipt of the committee’s
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1 recommendation, notify the governor of any additional
2 recommendation in support of or contrary to the committee’s
3 recommendation. Any recommendation shall be made by a majority
4 vote of the board of parole.
5 6. In determining whether to recommend commutation of
6 the applicant’s sentence, the committee shall consider all
7 circumstances including but not limited to all of the following
8 factors:
9 a. Whether the applicant has performed acts that tend to
10 indicate rehabilitation, including but not limited to whether
11 the applicant participated in rehabilitative, educational,
12 or vocational programs, if available at the applicant’s
13 classification level and facility, whether the applicant
14 utilized available materials for self-improvement, and whether
15 the applicant participated in other programs designed to
16 promote behavior change and to prepare offenders for successful
17 reentry into the community.
18 b. Whether the applicant’s case file demonstrates that the
19 applicant shows respect for authority and has been deemed a
20 positive influence on others.
21 c. The applicant’s disciplinary record in prison.
22 d. Family or community supports of the applicant, including
23 whether the applicant has maintained relationships with
24 persons outside of prison through letters, calls, or visits,
25 and whether the applicant has eliminated contact with persons
26 outside of prison who are currently involved in criminal
27 activity.
28 e. Whether a meaningful plan for housing and support is
29 in place if the applicant is released indicating that the
30 applicant can be a contributing and positive member of society.
31 f. The applicant’s education and employment history, before
32 and during incarceration, including employable skills for
33 self-support if and when released, and any references received
34 from persons who have served as work supervisors during the
35 applicant’s period of incarceration.
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1 g. The circumstances of the applicant’s crime, including
2 the degree of participation by the applicant and the nature and
3 severity of the crime, including any of the following:
4 (1) Whether the crime was committed while participating in
5 another felony.
6 (2) The number of victims.
7 (3) The heinous, brutal, cruel manner of the crime,
8 including whether the crime involved torture.
9 h. Whether the applicant was convicted of murder pursuant to
10 felony murder or aiding and abetting murder provisions of law,
11 but did not directly commit the act of murder.
12 i. Whether the applicant’s sentence of life without parole
13 was entered following a plea signed and accepted by all parties
14 in which the plea agreement recommended a different sentence.
15 j. The level of compulsion, duress, influence, abuse, or
16 trauma, if any, exerted upon the applicant, but not to such an
17 extent as to constitute a defense.
18 k. The capacity of the applicant to appreciate the
19 criminality of the conduct, including whether the applicant’s
20 ability to conform the applicant’s conduct with the
21 requirements of the law was substantially impaired and any
22 intellectual or mental incapacity at the time of the crime.
23 l. The chronological age of an applicant who was twenty-five
24 years of age or less at the time of the crime and the
25 features of youth, including immaturity, impetuosity, and
26 failure to appreciate risks and consequences; any familial
27 or peer pressure that may have affected the applicant; and
28 the competencies of youth including but not limited to the
29 applicant’s inability to deal with peace officers or the
30 prosecution or the applicant’s incapacity to assist the
31 applicant’s attorney in the applicant’s defense.
32 m. The family and home environment that surrounded the
33 applicant prior to incarceration; adult support or supervision
34 in the applicant’s childhood or youth; and any history of
35 psychological or physical trauma, domestic violence, or
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1 significant stress.
2 n. Whether the applicant has any cognitive limitations due
3 to mental illness, any developmental disability, intoxication
4 or the influence of a drug or controlled substance, or any
5 other factors that did not constitute a defense but influenced
6 the applicant’s involvement in the crime.
7 o. The applicant’s remorse and acceptance of responsibility.
8 p. The applicant’s level of maturity, the likelihood of
9 the commission of further offenses by the applicant including
10 evidence that reflects whether age, time served, and diminished
11 physical or mental condition or terminal illness, if any, have
12 reduced the applicant’s risk for future violence.
13 q. The impact of the crime on each victim through the use of
14 a victim impact statement, as defined in section 915.10. The
15 victim impact statement may include information relating to the
16 applicant’s crime.
17 r. The impact of the crime on the community, including
18 evidence that circumstances have changed since the applicant’s
19 original sentencing so that the applicant’s continued
20 incarceration is no longer in the interest of justice.
21 s. The threat posed by the applicant to the safety of the
22 public or any particular person.
23 t. Whether the applicant’s application is supported by a
24 recommendation from one or more of the following persons:
25 (1) The director of the department of corrections.
26 (2) The chairperson of the Iowa board of parole.
27 (3) The warden from a prison where the applicant has been
28 incarcerated.
29 7. Upon receipt of any report and recommendation from the
30 committee and the board of parole, the governor may commute
31 the applicant’s sentence of life imprisonment without parole
32 to a term of years. Alternatively, the governor may deny the
33 commutation or take no action.
34 8. Upon the expiration of three months after a
35 recommendation by the committee in favor of commutation
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1 was forwarded to the governor under this section, if the
2 governor has not taken any action on the application, the
3 committee shall, within thirty days of the expiration of the
4 three-month period, submit its recommendation and report, with
5 any associated recommendation or report from the board of
6 parole, to the district court in the county that originally
7 sentenced the applicant for reconsideration of the applicant’s
8 sentence pursuant to section 902.4A. Alternatively, at any
9 time after receipt of any recommendation and report from the
10 committee, the governor may direct the committee to submit that
11 recommendation a