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.