Arrest Reports and Laws

Periodic parole consideration hearings for dangerous offenders; setting of parole date; information to be considered.


(1)(a) Within six months after commitment to the custody of the Department of Corrections of any person sentenced under ORS 161.725 and 161.735 as a dangerous offender, the State Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision shall set a date for a parole consideration hearing instead of an initial release date as otherwise required under ORS 144.120 and 144.125. The parole consideration hearing date shall be the time the prisoner would otherwise be eligible for parole under the board’s rules.
(b)(A) At the parole consideration hearing, the prisoner shall be given a release date in accordance with the rules of the board if the board finds the prisoner no longer dangerous or finds that the prisoner remains dangerous but can be adequately controlled with supervision and mental health treatment and that the necessary resources for supervision and treatment are available to the prisoner. If the board is unable to make such findings, a review will be conducted no less than two years, and no more than 10 years, from the date of the previous review, until the board is able to make such findings, at which time release on parole shall be ordered if the prisoner is otherwise eligible under the rules.
(B) The board may not grant the prisoner a review hearing that is more than two years from the date of the previous hearing unless the board finds that it is not reasonable to expect that the prisoner would be granted a release date before the date of the subsequent hearing.
(C) The board shall determine the date of the review hearing in accordance with rules adopted by the board. Rules adopted under this subparagraph must be based on the foundation principles of criminal law described in section 15, Article I of the Oregon Constitution.
(D) In no event shall the prisoner be held beyond the maximum sentence less good time credits imposed by the court.
(c) Nothing in this section precludes a prisoner from submitting a request for a parole consideration hearing prior to the earliest time the prisoner is eligible for parole. If the board grants a prisoner a review hearing that is more than two years from the date of the previous hearing, the prisoner may submit a request for an interim review hearing not earlier than the date that is two years from the date of the previous hearing and at intervals of not less than two years thereafter. Should the board find, based upon a request described in this paragraph, that there is a reasonable cause to believe that the prisoner is no longer dangerous or that necessary supervision and treatment are available based upon the information provided in the request, it shall conduct a review as soon as is reasonably convenient.
(d) When the board grants a prisoner a review hearing that is more than two years from the date of the previous hearing and when the board denies a petition for an interim hearing, the board shall issue a final order. The order shall be accompanied by findings of fact and conclusions of law. The findings of fact shall consist of a concise statement of the underlying facts supporting the findings as to each contested issue of fact and as to each ultimate fact required to support the board’s order. Unless the prisoner bears the burden of persuasion, the order shall include findings necessary to deny the prisoner a release date for any period of time when the prisoner would be presumed to be eligible for a release date.
(2) For the parole consideration hearing, the board shall cause to be brought before it and consider all information regarding such person. The information shall include:
(a) The written report of the examining psychiatrist or psychologist which shall contain all the facts necessary to assist the State Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision in making its determination. The report of the examining psychiatrist or psychologist shall be made within two months of the date of its consideration; and
(b) A written report to be made by the executive officer of the Department of Corrections institution in which the person has been confined. The executive officer’s report shall contain:
(A) A detailed account of the person’s conduct while confined, all infractions of rules and discipline, all punishment meted out to the person and the circumstances connected therewith, as well as the extent to which the person has responded to the efforts made in the institution to improve the person’s mental and moral condition.
(B) A statement as to the person’s present attitude toward society, toward the sentencing judge, toward the prosecuting district attorney, toward the arresting police officer and toward the person’s previous criminal career.
(C) The work and program record of the person while in or under the supervision of the Department of Corrections. The program history shall include a summary of any psychological or substance abuse treatment and other activities that will assist the board in understanding the psychological adjustment and social skills and habits of the person and that will assist the board in determining the likelihood for successful community reentry. [1955 c.636 §5; 1961 c.424 §6; 1971 c.743 §339; 1973 c.836 §291; 1981 c.644 §5; 1985 c.283 §4; 1987 c.320 §58; 1991 c.318 §2; 1993 c.334 §3; 2009 c.660 §4]