MS HB219

Amends Section 47-5-1003 to revise eligibility for the intensive supervision program as an alternative to incarceration for low-risk offenders who have committed nonviolent crimes as defined in Section 47-7-3(1)(g).

Courts or the Department of Corrections may place defendants in intensive supervision except when death sentence or life imprisonment is the maximum penalty or if the defendant has prior felony convictions or has been convicted of a felony involving a deadly weapon.

Offenders who violate intensive supervision conditions may be arrested and placed in Department of Corrections custody, with removal from the program determined by a classification hearing officer.

Courts must notify the Mississippi Department of Corrections central office and relevant regional office within 15 days of placing an offender in intensive supervision and cannot require participation during probation or post-release supervision terms.

The Department of Corrections must report to House and Senate Corrections Committee chairs on program effectiveness before January 1, 2010, with the act taking effect July 1, 2010.