H 3152 General Bill, By S.S. Wofford, Allison, H. Brown, A.W. Byrd, 
C.D. Chamblee, Cooper, Fair, R.C. Fulmer, Gamble, Govan, H.M. Hallman, 
P.B. Harris, Haskins, H.G. Hutson, Koon, Littlejohn, C.V. Marchbanks, Meacham, 
Riser, Simrill, Stille, C.L. Sturkie, Vaughn, D.C. Waldrop and Young-Brickell
 A Bill to amend Section 24-21-640, as amended, Code of Laws of South Carolina,
 1976, relating to the authority of the Board of Probation, Parole and Pardon
 Services to grant parole, so as to provide that parole may not be granted for
 persons convicted of violent crimes.

   01/14/93  House  Introduced and read first time HJ-22
   01/14/93  House  Referred to Committee on Medical, Military,
                     Public and Municipal Affairs HJ-22

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 24-21-640, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE AUTHORITY OF THE BOARD OF PROBATION, PAROLE AND PARDON SERVICES TO GRANT PAROLE, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT PAROLE MAY NOT BE GRANTED FOR PERSONS CONVICTED OF VIOLENT CRIMES.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Section 24-21-640 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 510 of 1990, is further amended to read:

"Section 24-21-640. The board must carefully consider the record of the prisoner before, during, and after imprisonment, and no such prisoner may be paroled until it appears to the satisfaction of the board: that:

(1) the prisoner has shown a disposition to reform;

(2) that, in the future he will probably obey the law and lead a correct life;

(3) that by his conduct he has merited a lessening of the rigors of his imprisonment;

(4) that the interests of society will not be impaired thereby by his parole; and, that

(5) suitable employment has been secured for him.

The board must establish written, specific criteria for the granting of parole and provisional parole. This criteria must reflect all of the aspects of this section and include a review of a prisoner's disciplinary and other records. The criteria must be made available to all prisoners at the time of their incarceration and the general public. The paroled prisoner must render, as often as may be required, render a written report to the board giving that information as may be required by the board which must be confirmed by the person in whose employment the prisoner may be at the time. The board must not grant parole nor is parole authorized to any a prisoner serving a sentence for a second or subsequent conviction, following a separate sentencing for a prior conviction, for a violent crimes crime as defined in Section 16-1-60. Provided that where more than one included offense shall be committed within a one-day period or pursuant to one continuous course of conduct, such multiple offenses shall be treated for purposes of this section as one offense.

Any part or all of a prisoner's in-prison disciplinary records and, with the prisoner's consent, records involving all awards, honors, earned work credits and educational credits, are subject to the Freedom of Information Act as contained in Chapter 4 of Title 30."

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.