(a) An inmate (1) not convicted of a crime for which there is a victim, as defined in section 54-201 or section 54-226, who is known by the Board of Pardons and Paroles, (2) whose eligibility for parole release is not subject to the provisions of subsection (b) of section 54-125a, (3) who was not convicted of a violation of section 53a-70b of the general statutes, revision of 1958, revised to January 1, 2019, or section 53a-55, 53a-55a, 53a-56, 53a-56a, 53a-56b, 53a-57, 53a-58, 53a-59, 53a-59a, 53a-60, 53a-60a, 53a-60c, 53a-64aa, 53a-64bb, 53a-70, 53a-72b, 53a-92, 53a-92a, 53a-94a, 53a-95, 53a-100aa, 53a-101, 53a-102, 53a-102a, 53a-103a, 53a-111, 53a-112, 53a-134, 53a-135, 53a-136, 53a-167c, 53a-179b, 53a-179c or 53a-181c, and (4) who is not otherwise prohibited from being granted parole for any reason, may be allowed to go at large on parole in accordance with the provisions of section 54-125a or section 54-125g, pursuant to the provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of this section.
(b) A member of the board, or an employee of the board qualified by education, experience or training in the administration of community corrections, parole, pardons, criminal justice, criminology, the evaluation or supervision of offenders or the provision of mental health services to offenders, may evaluate whether parole should be granted to an inmate pursuant to this section. The board member or employee shall (1) use risk-based structured decision making and release criteria developed under policies adopted by the board pursuant to subsection (d) of section 54-124a, and (2) review the inmate's offender accountability plan, including, but not limited to, the environment to which the inmate plans to return upon release, to determine whether parole should be recommended for such inmate.
(c) If the board member or qualified employee recommends parole for an inmate, the chairperson of the board shall present such recommendation and all pertinent information to a parole release panel for approval. No parole release panel may review such recommendation and determine the suitability for parole release of an inmate unless the chairperson has made reasonable efforts to determine the existence of and obtain all information deemed pertinent to the panel's decision and has certified that all such pertinent information determined to exist has been obtained or is unavailable. No applicant may be granted parole pursuant to this section unless each board member or parole officer who reviewed such inmate's file certifies that he or she reviewed such recommendation and all such pertinent information.
(June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-2, S. 11; P.A. 19-189, S. 35.)
History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-2 effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 19-189 amended Subsec. (a)(3) by replacing “53a-70b,” with “section 53a-70b of the general statutes, revision of 1958, revised to January 1, 2019, or”.