BILL NUMBER: SB 499	CHAPTERED  09/26/00

	CHAPTER   652
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 26, 2000
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   SEPTEMBER 24, 2000
	PASSED THE SENATE   AUGUST 31, 2000
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 24, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 14, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   JULY 5, 2000
	AMENDED IN SENATE   APRIL 27, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   APRIL 14, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   APRIL 8, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Burton

                        FEBRUARY 18, 1999

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



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 499, Burton.  Imprisonment:  parole.
   Existing law provides that the Board of Prison Terms may report to
the Governor the names of persons imprisoned in any state prison who
ought to have a commutation of sentence or be pardoned and set at
liberty for any cause, including evidence of battered woman syndrome,
as defined.
   This bill would require the board, in reviewing a prisoner's
suitability for parole, as specified, to consider any information or
evidence that, at the time of the commission of the crime, the
prisoner had suffered from battered woman syndrome, but was convicted
of the offense prior to the enactment of Section 1107 of the
Evidence Code by Chapter 812 of the Statutes of 1991.  This bill
would also require the board to state on the record the information
or evidence it considered pursuant to these provisions, and the
reasons for the parole decision.  This bill would require the board
to report annually to the Legislature and the Governor, as specified.


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 Prison Terms 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 battered woman syndrome.  For purposes of this section,
"evidence of battered woman syndrome" may include evidence of the
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) The Board of Prison Terms, in reviewing a prisoner's
suitability for parole pursuant to Section 3041.5, shall consider any
information or evidence that, at the time of the commission of the
crime, the prisoner had suffered from battered woman syndrome, but
was convicted of the offense prior to the enactment of Section 1107
of the Evidence Code by Chapter 812 of the Statutes of 1991.  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 decision
and the findings of its investigations of these cases.