HB1512: relative to the parole of certain prisoners.

HB 1512-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2022 SESSION

22-2070

04/11

HOUSE BILL 1512-FN

AN ACT relative to the parole of certain prisoners.

SPONSORS: Rep. Abramson, Rock. 37; Rep. Adjutant, Graf. 17

COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety

ANALYSIS

This bill changes the eligibility for parole for certain prisoners.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

22-2070

04/11

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Two

AN ACT relative to the parole of certain prisoners.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Findings. The general court finds that:

I. The department of corrections states that there are 189 inmates serving life without parole.

II. Prisoners who maintain their innocence face longer wait times for parole and are less likely to be paroled.

III. Over 2,000 Americans have been released from prison in rare instances where new forensic evidence proves them innocent, but they spend an average of 13 more years behind bars after new evidence surfaces.

IV. Over 99 percent of all habeas corpus filings from inmates are rejected by the courts.

V. The average exoneree spends another 13 years in prison after new forensic evidence shows that they are likely or certainly innocent.

VI. Many of these inmates are serving extended prison sentences because of the political climate that existed 25 years ago that has led to mass incarceration over the years.

VII. By reviewing forensic evidence, Innocence Project has caught the real murderer in 148 different cases.

VIII. Recent studies have shown that Latinos are given 10 percent more prison time than the average for a first time offense, while black convicts are given 15 percent more prison time for a first time offense.

IX. Corrections officers must show up for work each day with the stress of working among inmates already serving life in prison with no additional legal repercussions for killing a corrections officer.

X. It is good public policy to offer a parole hearing for all prisoners who have served 25 years or more of their sentence to ensure that they have not been wrongly convicted, over-charged, or over-sentenced.

2 New Paragraph; Parole of Prisoners; Terms of Release. Amend RSA 651-A:6 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:

V.(a) The commissioner shall grant a parole hearing to any person who has been incarcerated in a state correctional facility for at least 25 years. The commissioner shall schedule such hearings as soon as practicable after the prisoner reaches his or her 25th year of incarceration.

(b) This paragraph shall not apply to:

(1) A prisoner convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death before the effective date of this paragraph; or

(2) A prisoner who is convicted of murder while serving a sentence in a correctional facility.

3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

LBA

22-2070

Redraft 12/2/21

HB 1512-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

AN ACT relative to the parole of certain prisoners.

FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ ] None

Estimated Increase / (Decrease)

STATE:

FY 2022

FY 2023

FY 2024

FY 2025

Appropriation

$0

$0

$0

$0

Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

Expenditures

$0

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

Funding Source:

[ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ ] Other

METHODOLOGY:

The New Hampshire Parole Board indicates this bill would allow inmates convicted of 2nd degree murder and 1st degree murder and sentenced to life in prison, with or without the possibility of parole, to receive a parole hearing after serving 25 years of their sentences. There are currently 60 inmates for whom the Board would have to provide immediate hearings. The Board states it would need an additional case manager and an additional Board member in order to provide the additional hearings. The Board assumes 60 additional hearings would overwork the current 5 member board, resulting in resignations from the Board. The Board indicates inmates who have served 25 years of a sentence, and especially those serving life without parole, have been significantly institutionalized and have engaged in little or no reentry programming. The Board also states that hearings involving homicides are arduous to prepare and hold as they have many stakeholders and 25 or more years of records for parole office staff to prepare and for board members to read. The Board states it would need an extra day of hearings each week and this could not occur with current resources. The Board estimated the costs for a new case manager and an additional Board Member would be as follows:

FY 2023

FY 2024

FY 2025

Case Manager LG 20

(includes $1,300 hazard pay)

$43,600

$45,400

$47,200

Benefits

$29,200

$30,700

$32,200

Hardware & Equipment

$3,500

$0

$0

Additional Board Member

$20,000

$20,000

$20,000

Mileage Reimbursement

$2,100

$2,100

$2,100

Laptop Computer

$1,000

$0

$0

Total (rounded):

$99,400

$98,200

$101,500

The Department of Corrections states it is not able to determine the fiscal impact of this bill because it does not have sufficient detail to predict the number of individuals who would be subject to this legislation. The Department states the average annual cost of incarcerating an individual in the general population for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021 was $54,386. The average cost to supervise an individual by the Department’s Division of Field Services for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021 was $603.

It is assumed that any fiscal impact would occur after FY 2022.

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

New Hampshire Adult Parole Board and Department of Corrections