The enactment of HB 585 impacted Mississippi’s parole laws in several significant ways. Three of the major changes are as follows:
- Non-violent habitual offenders (aka “little” habitual) may now petition the sentencing court for parole eligibility. Before, being sentenced as a “little” habitual offender meant the maximum sentence without parole.
- Most enhanced sentences are now parole-eligible sentences. For example, that means that people sentenced as second or subsequent offenders of our drug laws are now eligible for release after completing 25% of their sentence. The list of which enhancements are affected by these changes is quite long.
- Arson and sale of more than one kilogram of marijuana used to be ineligible for parole, but that is no longer the case.
There are many, many other changes, but these are three of the most important. If your friend or loved one may be affected by these changes to Mississippi’s laws, please contact a Mississippi criminal defense lawyer for more information.