BILL NUMBER: AB 1593	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 21, 2012
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  MAY 10, 2012
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 29, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Ma

                        FEBRUARY 6, 2012

   An act to amend Section 4801 of the Penal Code, relating to
parole.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1593, Ma. Parole: intimate partner battering.
   Existing law requires the Board of Parole Hearings, one year prior
to an inmate's minimum eligible parole release date, to meet with
the inmate to review his or her suitability for parole. As part of
this review, existing law requires the board to consider information
or evidence that, at the time of the crime, the person had
experienced intimate partner battering, if that person was convicted
of the offense prior to the enactment of a specified provision of
law. Under existing law, the board is required to annually report to
the Legislature and the Governor on cases that the board considered
for parole, including the board's decisions and the findings of its
investigations in these cases. Existing case law supports the denial
of parole on the ground that the prisoner lacks insight into his or
her crimes and its causes.
   This bill would instead require the board to consider the
information or evidence described above if the person was convicted
of an offense that occurred prior to August 29, 1996. The bill would
require the board to give great weight to information or evidence of
intimate partner battering at the time of the crime. Additionally,
the bill would require specific and detailed findings of the board's
investigations to be included in the annual report. The bill would
also provide that the fact that a prisoner has presented evidence of
intimate partner battering cannot be used to support a finding that
the prisoner lacks insight into his or her crime.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 4801 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   4801.  (a) The Board of Parole Hearings may report to the
Governor, from time to time, the names of any and all persons
imprisoned in any state prison who, in its judgment, ought to have a
commutation of sentence or be pardoned and set at liberty on account
of good conduct, or unusual term of sentence, or any other cause,
including evidence of intimate partner battering and its effects. For
purposes of this section, "intimate partner battering and its
effects" may include evidence of the nature and effects of physical,
emotional, or mental abuse upon the beliefs, perceptions, or behavior
of victims of domestic violence where it appears the criminal
behavior was the result of that victimization.
   (b) (1) The Board of Parole Hearings, in reviewing a prisoner's
suitability for parole pursuant to Section 3041.5, shall give great
weight to any information or evidence that, at the time of the
commission of the crime, the prisoner had experienced intimate
partner battering, but was convicted of an offense that occurred
prior to August 29, 1996. The board shall state on the record the
information or evidence that it considered pursuant to this
subdivision, and the reasons for the parole decision. The board shall
annually report to the Legislature and the Governor on the cases the
board considered pursuant to this subdivision during the previous
year, including the board's decisions and the specific and detailed
findings of its investigations of these cases.
   (2) The report for the Legislature to be submitted pursuant to
paragraph (1) shall be submitted pursuant to Section 9795 of the
Government Code.
   (3) The fact that a prisoner has presented evidence of intimate
partner battering cannot be used to support a finding that the
prisoner lacks insight into his or her crime and its causes.