An Act To Modernize
And Regulate The Granting
Of Parole
In Criminal Cases And Amending The
Parole Act of 1940

Section One, Introduction: The parole Act of 1940 as mended, 61 PS Section 321 et seq., is amended to provide as enacted hereby. Any and all inconsistent provisions of the prior act are hereby repealed. Section Two, Definitions: The words and phrases used herein have their plain, ordinary English meanings except as they are specifically defined in Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes relating to criminal violations and/or Title 61 relating to parole. Section Three, Presumptive Parole: A. Each person sentenced to a term of imprisonment for violation of the criminal law shall be paroled from that sentence upon the expiration of his or her minimum term of imprisonment unless the individual has accrued 12 or more points as defined in Section Five. A person sentenced to a life term of imprisonment for violation of the cirminal law shall be paroled from that sentence upon the expiration of 20 years of the term of imprisonment unless the individual has accrued 5 or more points as defined in Section Five. B. An individual returned to prison for any violation of his or her conditions of parole shall be paroled upon the expiration of 1 year or of half the time remaining on his or her maximum sentence which ever is less, unless the individual has accrued 10 or more points as defined in Section Five. C. A person confined as a juvenile offender shall be paroled pursuant to guidelines promulgated by the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole. D. An individual who is denied parole shall be reconsidered at the expiration of 6 months. Section Four, Custody of Parolees: A. Each individual paroled from a sentence of imprisonment shall serve out the remainder of his or her sentence until the expiration of the maximum term under the control and supervision of the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole pursuant to such reasonable and necessary terms and conditions as the Board may provide. B. The Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole shall endeavor to assure the public safety and the social good by providing each parolee with meaningful guidance, supervision, management, tutoring and/or other services necessary to facilitate the parolee's success in society as a law-abiding citizen. Section Five, Evaluation System: A. In considering an eligible prisoner for parole, the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole shall compute the number of points accrued by the individual according to the following schedules. Where more than one circumstance applies, the points applicable for each circumstance are combined. 1. Prisoner Misconduct: An individual found guilty of prison misconduct as defined by Department of Corrections directives shall be charged points according to the herewith matrix. No points shall be charged for misconduct charges which did not result in conviction or for convictions which are 18 months old or older at the time of the projected date of the individual's parole. Misconduct Conviction Within Less Than 6 months Within 6 to 12 months Within 12 to 18 months Any Class I Misconduct 16 12 6 Any Class II Misconduct 5 2 0 Additional Assessment For Misconduct Involving The Following Crimes Code Violation 18 12 6 Violence or Injury 14 10 5 Sexual Conduct 5 2 1 Use of Narcotic 3 2 0 Points may be accumulated for misconducts involving more than one category of conduct. 2. Education: (a.) Six (6) points shall be charged to an individual who has been assessed by the Department of Corrections to possess less than a tenth grade education and who failed to make a good faith effort to obtain a tenth grade education during at least two years of his or her current term of imprisonment which ever is less, provided the individual is possessed of the intellectual capacity to master a tenth grade education. Points may aggregate with Section (b). (b.) Five (5) points shall be charged to an individual who has been assessed by the Department of Corrections to possess less than a high school education and who failed to make a good faith effort to obtain a high school education during at least two years of his or her current term of imprisonment or during half of his or her current term of imprisonment which ever is less, provided the individual is possessed of the intellectual capacity to master a high school education. 3. Therapy: (1.) Twenty-one (21) points shall be charged to an individual who is serving a sentence for a crime which resulted in the death of any person and who failed to make a good faith effort to obtain therapy and/or education relating to anger management, the value of human life and respect for the lives of others during at least three years during the current term of his or her imprisonment, or during half of his or her current term of imprisonment which ever is less. (b.) Nineteen (19) points shall be charged to an individual who is serving a sentence for a crime involving violence and/or serious bodily injury, but not death and who failed to make a good faith effort to obtain therapy and/or education relating to anger management, the value of human life and respect for the lives of otehrs during at least three years during the current term of his or her imprisonment, or during half of his or her current term of imprisonment which ever is less. (c.) Seventeen (17) points shall be charged to an individual who is serving a sentence for a sexual offense as defined by the criminal statutes and who failed to make a good faith effort to obtain therapy and/or education to control his or her sexual dysfunction(s) during at least three years during the current term of his or her imprisonment, or during half of his or her current term of imprisonment which ever is less. (d.) Twelve (12) points shall be charged to an individual who is serving a sentence for an offense relating to the abuse of drugs and/or alcohol as defined by the cirminal statutes and who failed to make a good faith effort to obtain therapy and/or education relating to the control of his or her substance abuse practices during at least two years during the current term of his or her imprisonment, or during half of his or her current term of imprisonment which ever is less. (e.) Nine (9) points shall be charged to an individual who is serving a sentence for an offense relating to the abuse of official trust or authority as defined by the criminal statutes and who failed to make a good faith effort to obtain therapy and/or education relating to control of his or her abusive practices during at least two years during the current term of his or her imprisonment, or during half of his or her current term of imprisonment which ever is less. (f.) Seven (7) points shall be charged to an individual who is serving a sentence for any offense not specifically enumerated in subsections (a) through (e) of this Section and who failed to make a good faith effort to obtain therapy and/or education as presecribed by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections during at least one year during the current term of his or her imprisonment, or during half of his or her current term of imprisonment which ever is less. 4. Employment: (a.) Seven (7) points shall be charged to an able-bodied individual under sixty-two (62) years of age who has failed to make a good faith effort to engage in institutional employment during at least five years during the current term of his or her imprisonment, or during half of his or her current term of imprisonment which ever is less. (b.) Five (5) points shall be charged to an able-bodied individual under sixty (60) years of age who has failed to make a good faith effort to obtain vocational and/or employment training during at least two years during the current term of his or her imprisonment, or during half of his or her current term of imprisonment which ever is less, provided the Department of Corrections has assessed that such training is necessary for the individual to obtain employment upon his or her parole. 5. Meritorious awards: (a.) Appropriate members of the prison staff shall evaluate each individual who will be considered for parole by the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole. The point values (if any) of those evaluations shall be subtracted from the accrued total of points obtained from subsections 1 through 4 of this Section. (b.) The values in the following matrix shall be applied. Staff Evaluation None Unsatis- factory Satis- factory Good Superintendent's Recommendation 0 5 -2 -4 Housing Assessment -1 0 -1 -2 Employment Assessment 0 0 -1 -2 Treatment Assessment 0 1 -2 -3 Educational Assessment 0 1 -2 -3 Social Activities Assessment 0 0 -1 -2 Section Six, Discretionary Provisions: The Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole may exercise limited discretion to refuse to grant parole to an individual who would otherwise to entitled to parole or to grant parole to an individual who would otherwise not be entitled to parole. Such discretion shall be based upon the individual's age, health, handicaps, demeanor, cooperativeness, lack of remorse or rehabilitation and/or the recommendation of the victim(s) if any, provided that adjustment in the aggregated point score does not exceed plus or minus 7 points. Section Seven, Effective Date: This act shall take effect in 60 days.

A Suggested Form For Computing Parole Suitability.