Related to a commutation of sentence request from a class “A” felon sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, establishing a life imprisonment review committee to make recommendations in the case of a minimum custody level applicant who has served at least twenty-five years in prison, with reconsideration of a sentence upon the governor’s request or inaction, and providing expedited review in the case of an applicant’s terminal illness and incapacitation

A person convicted of a class “A” felony shall not be released on parole unless the governor commutes the sentence to a term of years.4A. Under current law, a person who has been sentenced to life imprisonment may, no more than once every years, make an application to the governor requesting that the person’s sentence be commuted to a term of years. The director of the Iowa department of corrections may make a request to the governor that a person’s sentence be commuted to a term of years at any time. The bill provides that, upon receipt of a request for commutation, the governor shall, within days of receipt of the request, send a copy of the request to the Iowa board of parole for investigation along with recommendations as to whether the person should receive commutation. Within 120 days of receipt of such request, the board shall conduct an interview of the class “A” felon and shall make a report of its findings and recommendations to the governor. Any decision to recommend commutation shall be by a majority vote of the board.2A (life imprisonment review after years), created in the bill.2B (expedited review of class “A” felony sentence upon terminal illness), created in the bill, shall be made and processed according to that Code section. The bill establishes a life imprisonment review committee to review life sentences after a person has served years. The bill defines “applicant” as a person convicted of a class “A” felony and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, “committee” as the life imprisonment review committee established in the bill, and “victim” as a person who has suffered physical, emotional, or financial harm as the result of a public offense or a delinquent act, other than a simple misdemeanor, committed in the state. “Victim” also includes the immediate family members of a victim who died or was rendered incompetent as a result of the offense or who was under the age of at the time of the offense. The committee is established to make commutation recommendations to the governor and facilitate reconsideration by the district court regarding applicants. The bill provides provisions relating to the composition of the committee and voting requirements. The bill provides that after the first years of an applicant’s sentence to life imprisonment, an applicant who is at the time of application classified as minimum security custody level may, no more than once every three years, make an application to the governor requesting that the applicant’s sentence be commuted to a term of years. This three-year limitation shall be waived in the case of an applicant who is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Upon receipt of an application, or upon a request for commutation from the director of the Iowa department of corrections on behalf of an applicant at any time, the governor shall, within days of receipt of the application or request, send a copy of the application or request to the committee for investigation and recommendation as to whether the applicant should receive commutation. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the governor may, before or after receiving the recommendation of the committee, commute the applicant’s sentence to a term of years or the district court may resentence the applicant to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole. The bill provides that upon receipt of an application for commutation, the committee shall conduct an investigation and hold a hearing concerning the applicant and shall consider the applicant’s circumstances according to certain factors as provided in the bill. The committee shall set a date for a hearing, which shall occur no later than 120 days after the committee’s receipt of the application for commutation unless the 120-day limit would require more than two hearings in any calendar month. The committee may extend this limit by consecutive 30-day periods as necessary for the committee to hold no more than two hearings per month. The committee shall, within days following the hearing, make a recommendation for or against commutation of the applicant’s sentence, and shall forward its recommendation and report to the governor and to the board of parole. The board of parole may, within days following the hearing, notify the governor of any additional recommendations or reports in support of or contrary to the committee’s recommendation. Any recommendation shall be by a majority vote of the board of parole. The bill provides that upon receipt of any reports and recommendations from the committee and from the board of parole, the governor may commute the applicant’s sentence of life imprisonment without parole to a term of years, deny the commutation, or take no action.4A (district court reconsideration of a class “A” felony sentence), created in the bill. At any time after receipt of a recommendation and report from the committee, the governor may direct the committee to submit any recommendations and reports, within days after receiving direction from the governor, to the district court for reconsideration of the applicant’s sentence. If the committee made a recommendation against commutation and the governor denied or has not granted commutation, the committee shall send a summary report to the applicant within four months of its report accompanied by the reasons for its recommendation against commutation. The bill provides for an expedited review of class “A” felony sentences when an applicant has a terminal illness. An application to the governor requesting that a person’s sentence of life imprisonment be commuted to a term of years already served may be made by an applicant, an applicant’s family member, or any other personal representative of an applicant if the applicant is terminally ill with an incurable condition caused by an illness or disease as detailed in the bill and the conditions under which the applicant would be released do not pose a threat to public safety. The bill provides that upon receipt of the report and recommendation of the committee, the district court, in the county that originally sentenced the applicant, shall order the applicant to be returned to the court, at which time the court shall review its previous sentence and reaffirm the sentence or substitute a sentence of commitment of the applicant to the custody of the director of the department of corrections for the rest of the applicant’s life with the possibility of parole. The court shall conduct a hearing to consider any evidence deemed appropriate by the court. The court shall base its determination on the evidence of those factors detailed in the bill. The court’s decision to reaffirm or substitute a sentence is subject to appeal only for errors of law or an abuse of discretion.