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Senate panel rejects bill to restore earlier parole reviews for some life-with-parole sentences
Summary
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 3–5 with one present to defeat legislation that would have allowed limited parole review for people serving 51‑year life-with-parole sentences, after hours of testimony for and against the measure.
At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Senators rejected Senate Bill 475, a proposal from Senator Brenda Bolling that would have shortened parole-eligibility thresholds for certain people sentenced to life with the possibility of parole. The motion failed on a roll call of 3 yes, 5 no and 1 present, not voting.
The bill would have restored parole-review windows closer to those that existed before 1995: it would have allowed review after 25 years for offenders who were 18–25 at the time of the offense and after 30 years for older offenders, while leaving life without parole and the death penalty unchanged. Bolling said the measure would “return us to our previous standard” and argued it would reduce long-term incarceration costs and give a pathway for a limited number of people who have been…
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