Effective 01 Jan 2017, see footnote

217.692. Eligibility for parole, offenders with life sentence, when — criteria. — 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any offender incarcerated in a correctional institution serving any sentence of life with no parole for fifty years or life without parole, whose plea of guilt was entered or whose trial commenced prior to December 31, 1990, and who:

(1) Pleaded guilty to or was found guilty of a homicide of a spouse or domestic partner;

(2) Has no prior violent felony convictions;

(3) No longer has a cognizable legal claim or legal recourse; and

(4) Has a history of being a victim of continual and substantial physical or sexual domestic violence that was not presented as an affirmative defense at trial or sentencing and such history can be corroborated with evidence of facts or circumstances which existed at the time of the alleged physical or sexual domestic violence of the offender, including but not limited to witness statements, hospital records, social services records, and law enforcement records;

­­shall be eligible for parole after having served fifteen years of such sentence when the board determines by using the guidelines established by this section that there is a strong and reasonable probability that the person will not thereafter violate the law.

2. The board of probation and parole shall give a thorough review of the case history and prison record of any offender described in subsection 1 of this section. At the end of the board's review, the board shall provide the offender with a copy of a statement of reasons for its parole decision.

3. Any offender released under the provisions of this section shall be under the supervision of the parole board for an amount of time to be determined by the board.

4. The parole board shall consider, but not be limited to the following criteria when making its parole decision:

(1) Length of time served;

(2) Prison record and self-rehabilitation efforts;

(3) Whether the history of the case included corroborative material of physical, sexual, mental, or emotional abuse of the offender, including but not limited to witness statements, hospital records, social service records, and law enforcement records;

(4) If an offer of a plea bargain was made and if so, why the offender rejected or accepted the offer;

(5) Any victim information outlined in subsection 8* of section 217.690 and section 595.209;

(6) The offender's continued claim of innocence;

(7) The age and maturity of the offender at the time of the board's decision;

(8) The age and maturity of the offender at the time of the crime and any contributing influence affecting the offender's judgment;

(9) The presence of a workable parole plan; and

(10) Community and family support.

5. Nothing in this section shall limit the review of any offender's case who is eligible for parole prior to fifteen years, nor shall it limit in any way the parole board's power to grant parole prior to fifteen years.

6. Nothing in this section shall limit the review of any offender's case who has applied for executive clemency, nor shall it limit in any way the governor's power to grant clemency.

7. It shall be the responsibility of the offender to petition the board for a hearing under this section.

8. A person commits the crime of perjury if he or she, with the purpose to deceive, knowingly makes a false witness statement to the board. Perjury under this section shall be a class D felony.

9. In cases where witness statements alleging physical or sexual domestic violence are in conflict as to whether such violence occurred or was continual and substantial in nature, the history of such alleged violence shall be established by other corroborative evidence in addition to witness statements, as provided by subsection 1 of this section. A contradictory statement of the victim shall not be deemed a conflicting statement for purposes of this section.

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(L. 2007 H.B. 583, A.L. 2014 S.B. 491)

Effective 1-01-17

*Statutory reference to subsection "7" changed to "8" in accordance with section 3.060 based on renumbering within section 217.690 by H.B. 1355, 2018.