The House Courts and Criminal Code Committee heard HB 1369 on sentencing authored by Rep. Morris.The bill:
- allows an inmate to petition for relief from the inmate’s sentence for certain offenses committed before July 1, 2014
- reduces the number of consecutive years that an inmate must be confined to the custody of the department, for an offense committed before July 1, 2014, before the department identifies the inmate to the parole board and provides the parole board with the inmate’s offender progress report
- provides that upon recommendation by the department, the parole board may consider certain factors and discharge an inmate if:
- the inmate has served a sentence for an offense that was committed before July 1, 2014, that meets or exceeds 75% of the current advisory sentence, including any credit time earned or accrued, for the offense on the date the inmate files for a petition for discharge; or
- the inmate has served a sentence for an offense that was committed before July 1, 2014, that meets or exceeds 75% of the maximum sentence for the same offense that the inmate is currently petitioning for relief
- provides that when determining whether an inmate has served 75% of the inmate’s sentence, the parole board shall consider:
- the substantially equivalent offense committed before July 1, 2014; and
- any enhancing circumstances.
The Indiana State Bar Association, Indiana Public Defender Council, and a former inmate of the Indiana Department of Correction testified in support of the bill. The Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Councill testified in opposition. The bill passed 6-1.
Read the bill at: http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2022/bills/house/1369