We stand ready to continue working with legislators and state leadership on more common sense solutions, like changing the states harsh habitual sentencing laws, further safely reducing Mississippis prison population, and strengthening families and communities across our state., In a tweet thread explaining his decision to sign the Mississippi Earned Parole Eligibility Act into law today, Gov. In October 1983, a Lowndes County circuit judge had sentenced him to three years in prison for selling less than one ounce of marijuana. Petition to free MS woman: Habitual offender, 2 ounces pot And right now, we are not extending that same grace and mercy to our fellow incarcerated Mississippians. Mississippi Code 99-19-81 and Mississippi Code 99-19-83 are the two main ones that lawmakers are trying to adjust. For example, in a post-pandemic world, the concerns of Covid-19 are only amplified in an overcrowded prison. Unfortunately, the passage of this bill does not guarantee all inmates the opportunity for parole. Reeves press secretary also has said the governor believes the state should focus on implementing 2014 and 2021 reforms, as well as rebuilding broken reentry programs, before additional legislation regarding habitual offenders is considered. With your gift, we can do even more important stories like this one. When Tameka Drummer celebrates her 47th birthday inside Rankin Countys Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in three days, she will be no closer to leaving prison than she was on her 37th birthday. The first step would be to draft new legislation to allow habitual offenders the opportunity for parole. Maximum sentencing with no hope for early release means thousands of prisoners are sitting in jail for extended periods of time. The judge who presided over her drug charge said the enhanced sentencing applied to Brown even though she was guilty as an accessory, because state law makes an accomplice guilty as principal. Too many incarcerated Mississippians were left out of this years criminal justice reform package and must be prioritized in future ones.. SB2795 excludes habitual offenders from earned parole. Parole - MS Mississippi implemented the restrictive parole eligibility requirements and its habitual offender law in the 1990s as a tough-on-crime wave swept the nation, including the federal government. Habitual Offender Sentencing Reform Prison Conditions FAMM's work in Mississippi started in May 2019 when we asked the U.S. Department of Justice to open a formal investigation into Parchman State Penitentiary, after we received pictures of flooding, mold, and other deplorable conditions. We use cookies to optimize our website and our service. Brown is also a mother, and she is 12 years into her life without parole sentence, also in Pearl. Those who are eligible must first serve 25% of their sentencing or, if they were sentenced to 30 years or more, they must serve at least 10 years before they may be considered. to find solutions to boost re-entry and reduce recidivism rates in the Magnolia State. People get clean and sober, and they may relapse, and that thing that happened as a teenager shouldnt count against me in my 30s or 40s, Judkins said. Early Releases Could Save Mississippi Nearly $1 Billion Mississippi implemented the restrictive parole eligibility requirements and its habitual offender law in the 1990s as a "tough-on-crime" wave swept the nation, including the federal government. It also allows people convicted of armed robbery to become eligible for a parole hearing after serving 60% of their sentences. She was arrested after less than $20 of cocaine fell out of her pocket. 'Habitual Offenders' Spend Decades in Mississippi Prisons For Drug and For instance, in Johnson v. United States, the government asked for an enhancement to sentencing based on the conviction of a violent felony in the Armed Career Criminal Act, which is defined as a crime that otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential of physical injury to another, according to the petition. But lawmakers opted for the narrower reforms this year after Gov. The fact that SB2795 does not allow habitual offenders an opportunity for earned parole is a huge blow to the MS corrections system. Disclaimer: These codes may not be the most recent version. The inmate is sentenced for a crime of 123 violence under Section 97-3-2; 124 3. . And it allows you some accountability for everybody, the lawmaker added. Though he doesnt know how far reaching the impact of a decision would be, Waide thinks its an important one to be decided. We observed as the board asked questions of an offender Wednesday, ranging from who hed live with if released, to whether hed had any rule violations while incarcerated. This is what the habitual sentencing law does. Thats more important than the dollar that it costs.. Sen. Wiggins, one of the legislations sponsors, thanked the governor in a tweet today. The law also mandates that violent offenders must have a parole hearing before being released. Mississippi - FAMM Allen Russell: Marijuana Life Sentence Conviction Upheld In Miss. - NewsOne Hewitt was a drug addict cooperating with the deputies in exchange for a reduced sentence, the Mississippi Court of Appeals would write later in 2011. The Court of Appeals held that the Circuit Court erred by denying Alexander's motions for funds to hire a mitigation investigator and an adolescent-development psychologist for his Miller v. Push coming across political spectrum. Black Women, Systemic Barriers and COVID-19 Project, Wilson agreed to be a confidential informant for the Flowood police and bait a cocaine seller, Mississippi Code 4129147 for a subsequent drug offense, Mississippi Appeals Court explained in its 2012 opinion, 1,000 feet of the real property of a school., remanded the case to Madison County Circuit Court for resentencing, the Mississippi Court of Appeals wrote on Nov. 8, 2011, signed the medical marijuana bill into law on Feb. 3, 2022, Housers second and third drug-related offense, In October 1983, a Lowndes County circuit judge had sentenced him to three years. Bill Text: MS HB87 | 2022 | Regular Session | Introduced We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. As stated in Section 2(a) of the bill, No person sentenced as a confirmed and habitual criminal under the provisions of Sections 99-19-81 through 99-19-87 shall be eligible for parole.. This is important for habitual drug offenders. Mississippis U.S. House delegation, which was made up of five Democrats at the time, split on the 1994 bill, with two members voting for it and three against. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Biden frees woman busted with 15 pounds of heroin but hardly helps pot offenders, Whats she been smoking? Like a number of other states, Mississippi has two habitual offender laws, referred to as the big and little laws. Mississippians are currently paying $360,000,000 a year to operate our prisons. We have the second-highest rate of imprisonment in the entire country, she said. 39110 In a way that we think is common sense, that it is smart on crime and soft on taxpayers. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. Sadly, the bills refusal to include habitual offenders in earned parole is a huge setback. Until May 5, 2006, 23 years later, Houser had no other felony on his record. Habitual Offender Laws in Louisiana, Mississippi Trap Thousands in Prison High rates of imprisonment are inherently disastrous. Tate Reeves this afternoon signed a separate criminal justice bill. S.B. In fact, two-thirds of Mississippi voters agree, according to a 2018 survey conducted for FWD.us., and believe habitual sentences shouldnt be applied to people whose current convictions are for non-violent crimes. You can read more about Johns story here. His tentative release date is 2129 at age 148. A trained photojournalist, Ashton lives in South Mississippi with his husband, William, and their two pit bulls, Dorothy and Dru. The habitual sentencing law is used by district attorneys to prosecute people for all offenses, including nonviolent crimes like shoplifting or drug possession. That means there will be a forum in which evidence supporting and contesting release will be considered. Today, she is a 46-year-old mother of four, starting her 13th year at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Pearl. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. Mississippi jails and prisons held 8,158 inmates in 1990. I might not even be here. Allowing the opportunity for parole will prevent people from serving absurdly long sentences for non-violent crimes. However, the next day and before sentencing, then-District Attorney Guest acting on behalf of the State asked the Madison County circuit court for permission to amend the indictment to charge Boyd as a subsequent drug offender. 3 major changes to Mississippi's parole laws - Eichelberger Law Firm, PLLC After the mid-decade changes, though, the states inmate population skyrocketedeven as the states overall population stagnated. An automated email reply on Thursday from Pillow indicated that he will not be back in office until Feb. 16, and has only periodic access to email until then. Mississippi Earned Parole Eligibility Act. Alexander v. Mississippi :: 2022 :: Supreme Court of Mississippi 2060 Main St. However, apetition for writ of certiorari sent to the court notes that two trial court judges differed on whether Brown was eligible for life under the sentencing enhancement. But, at the end of the day, I believe it meets my standard for a measured approach, & with proper implementation, it can be a net positive for Mississippi.. Tate Reeves touted in a statement after it passed. FWD.us agreed that there is much more work to do. Two people that may never go home again are Tameka Drummer and Patricia Brown. But when the new law takes effect this summer, the parole eligibility requirement will change to 25% of the sentence served or a maximum of 10 years. Browns attorney, Jim Waide of Tupelo, is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court on the grounds that what is defined as a violent crime under the statute is unconstitutionally vague. I missed out on my childrens lives. The #msleg addressed ur issue and sent you a bill you could sign, he wrote.
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