Missouri Laws 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;
Attorney's Note
Under the Missouri Laws, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Class D felony | up to 7 years | up to $10,000 |
Terms Used In Missouri Laws 217.692
- Board: the parole board. See Missouri Laws 217.010
- Division: a statutorily created agency within the department or an agency created by the departmental organizational plan. See Missouri Laws 217.010
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of the statutes, mean the section next preceding or next following that in which the reference is made, unless some other section is expressly designated in the reference. See Missouri Laws 1.020
- Offender: a person under supervision or an inmate in the custody of the department. See Missouri Laws 217.010
- person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Missouri Laws 1.020
- Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
- Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. Source: FDIC
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(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;
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shall be eligible for parole after having served fifteen years of such sentence when the parole 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 parole board 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 parole board’s review, the parole 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 division of probation and parole for an amount of time to be determined by the parole 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 10 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 parole 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 parole 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 parole 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.