MO HB1505

Board of Probation and Parole must thoroughly review case histories of incarcerated offenders with sentences exceeding 15 years or life without parole who have no prior felony convictions, have served at least 15 years, and have exhausted all state and federal appeals.

Board must prepare a report to the governor recommending either grant or denial of executive clemency within a reasonable time and provide the same report to the reviewed offender.

Offenders meeting criteria in subsection 3 become eligible for parole after serving at least 15 years if their history includes evidence of abuse, their age and maturity at time of crime affected judgment, they have no felony prior convictions, and appeals are exhausted.

Board must consider eight specific criteria when making decisions, including length of time served, prison record, evidence of abuse, role in crime, plea bargain history, sentence severity, offender's age and maturity, and parole plan development.

Cases must be reviewed again and recommendations made to the governor every three years if the offender remains incarcerated; nothing in the section limits review of other clemency applicants or the governor's clemency power.