December 12, 2023 - Introduced by Senators James, L. Johnson, Larson, Pfaff, Roys, Spreitzer, Taylor and Wirch, cosponsored by Representatives Novak, Andraca, Baldeh, Bare, Billings, Clancy, Drake, Goyke, Kitchens, Madison, Maxey, Moore Omokunde, Mursau, Neubauer, Ohnstad, Ortiz-Velez, Schmidt, Shelton, Snodgrass, Spiros, Stubbs, Subeck and Sinicki. Referred to Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety.
SB801,,22An Act to amend 302.113 (2), 302.114 (1), 302.114 (2), 303.065 (1) (b) 1., 304.02 (5), 304.06 (1) (b), 304.071 (2), 939.62 (2m) (b) (intro.), 950.04 (1v) (g), 950.04 (1v) (gm), 950.04 (1v) (m), 973.01 (3), 973.01 (4), 973.014 (1) (intro.), 973.014 (1g) (a) (intro.), 973.15 (2m) (a) 1. and 978.07 (1) (c) 1.; and to create 302.114 (5) (cs), 304.06 (1) (a) 3., 304.06 (1) (bc), 973.014 (3), 973.017 (2c), 973.018 and 977.05 (4) (i) 10. of the statutes; relating to: sentencing for crimes committed by a person who is under the age of 18. SB801,,33Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau This bill creates a sentence adjustment procedure for a “youthful offender,” defined under the bill as an individual who committed the crime for which the individual is being sentenced before he or she turned 18 years old. This bill also prohibits a court from sentencing a youthful offender to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or release to extended supervision, and creates new mitigating factors that a court must consider when sentencing a youthful offender. Finally, this bill eliminates statutory mandatory life sentences without parole or release to extended supervision for youthful offenders in order to align with federal constitutional law.
Sentence adjustment procedure for youthful offenders
This bill creates a new procedure for an incarcerated youthful offender to petition the sentencing court for a sentence adjustment after serving 15 years of his or her sentence in prison, or, if the person is serving a sentence for a crime that is a felony that caused the death of a person or is a felony sexual assault of a child, after serving 20 years in prison. Under the bill, one year before the youthful offender is eligible to petition for the sentence adjustment, the Department of Corrections is required to notify the youthful offender of his or her eligibility. If the youthful offender files a petition, the court is required to hold a hearing on the petition and is required to consider the sentencing factors on mitigation for youth created under the bill in determining whether to adjust the youthful offender’s sentence. Notice of the youthful offender’s eligibility for a sentence adjustment hearing, of the petition, and of the hearing must be sent to the district attorney and the crime victim. The youthful offender has the right to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses at the hearing and the crime victim has the right to be heard.
If the court finds that the interests of justice warrant a sentence adjustment, the court may reduce the term of confinement in prison for the youthful offender and may modify the conditions of extended supervision. If the youthful offender is serving an indeterminate sentence or a life sentence without parole or release to extended supervision, the court may convert the sentence to a bifurcated sentence and set a date on which the petitioner will be eligible for release to extended supervision. Under the bill, the sentencing court may reduce the overall sentence length, but may not impose a term of extended supervision that is less than three years. Under the bill, if the youthful offender is serving multiple sentences concurrently or consecutively, the concurrent or consecutive sentences are treated as a single sentence for the purposes of the sentence adjustment procedure.
If the court denies the petition under the bill, or adjusts the sentence to provide a date for release to extended supervision that is more than three years after the hearing, the court must provide in writing the reasons for the denial or the delayed release eligibility date. A youthful offender may petition again after three years. Under the bill, DOC is required to send a notice regarding the petition process to all youthful offenders who are eligible to petition for a sentence adjustment at the time the bill becomes law or who will become eligible within one year of that date. The bill also specifies that DOC must consider an individual’s status as a youthful offender and proximity to a sentence adjustment hearing date when determining the individual’s eligibility for available programming.