Oklahoma § 57-332.21

§ 57-332.21.

Power of Board to parole certain prisoners.

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 57. Prisons and Reformatories

A. The Pardon and Parole Board is empowered to parole a

prisoner who:

1. Is sixty (60) years of age or older;

2. Has served, in actual custody, the shorter of ten (10) years

of the term or terms of imprisonment, or one-third (1/3) of the

total term or terms of imprisonment;

3. Poses minimal public safety risks warranting continued

imprisonment;

4. Is not imprisoned for a crime enumerated in Section 13.1 of

Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes or Section 571 of Title 57 of the

Oklahoma Statutes; and

5. Has not been convicted of a crime that would require the

person to be subject to the registration requirements of the Sex

Offenders Registration Act.

B. The authority to grant parole under Section 332.2 of Title

57 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall rest with the Pardon and Parole

Board.

C. The Pardon and Parole Board shall use an evidence-based

risk-assessment instrument to assess the public safety risk posed by

aging prisoners upon release.

D. Unless eligible for release at an earlier date, an aging

prisoner who has been committed to the Department of Corrections for

a term or terms of imprisonment shall have the ability to request a

parole hearing before the Pardon and Parole Board if the prisoner

has served, in actual custody, the shorter of:

1. Ten (10) years of the term or terms of actual imprisonment;

or

2. One-third (1/3) of the total term or terms of imprisonment.

E. Once a prisoner requests a parole hearing under subsection A

of this section, the Pardon and Parole Board may place the prisoner

on the next available docket.

F. The Pardon and Parole Board may grant parole to a prisoner

if the Board finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the

prisoner, if released, can live and remain at liberty without posing

a substantial risk to public safety.

G. The Pardon and Parole Board may use the selected evidencebased risk-assessment instrument to make the determination provided

for in subsection F of this section.

H. The Pardon and Parole Board may provide the prisoner the

opportunity to speak on his or her own behalf and the option of

having counsel present at the parole hearing.

I. For purposes of this section:

1. "Aging prisoner" means any person imprisoned by the

Department of Corrections who is sixty (60) years of age or older;

and

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 57. Prisons and Reformatories

2. "Evidence-based" means programs or practices that have been

scientifically tested in controlled studies and proven to be

effective.

Added by Laws 2018, c. 117, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2018.