OAR 255-036-0005: Parole Consideration Hearings

(1) Within six (6) months after commitment to the Department of Corrections' custody of any person sentenced as a dangerous offender, the Board shall set a date for a parole consideration hearing which shall be no later than ten (10) days prior to the date the inmate would have been eligible for parole release under Division 35 of these rules if the court had not sentenced the offender pursuant to ORS 161.725 and 161.735 as a dangerous offender. (2) A person sentenced as a dangerous offender for felonies committed prior to November 1, 1989 is eligible for parole release: (a) After having served the Board ordered prison term; and (b) The Board finds the inmate no longer dangerous; or (c) The Board finds the inmate 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 inmate. (3) If the Board is unable to make the findings required by section (2) of this rule, the Board will conduct the next review hearing no less than two years, or more than ten years, from the current parole consideration date. (a) The Board may not grant the inmate a hearing that is more than two years from the date the petition is denied unless the Board finds that it is not reasonable to expect that the inmate would be granted a parole release date two years from that date. (b) A decision to establish a deferral period of longer than two years requires a unanimous vote of the members participating in the hearing. The length of deferral shall be determined by majority vote. (c) Factors to be considered in establishing a deferral period of longer than two years include those listed in OAR 255-062-0016. (d) The inmate may request an interim parole consideration hearing pursuant to OAR 255-062-0020. (e) If the Board finds, based upon the request for an interim hearing, that there is reasonable cause to believe that the inmate may be granted a change in the terms of confinement, the Board shall conduct a hearing as soon as is reasonably convenient. An interim parole consideration hearing may be granted by a majority of the Board. (f) If the Board denies a petition for an interim hearing, it shall issue a final order accompanied by findings of fact and conclusions of law, pursuant to ORS144.228(1)(d) (2009). (g) A finding by the Board under (e) above does not bind the Board to any specific finding at the interim parole consideration hearing. (4) The Board will hold parole consideration hearings pursuant to these rules until: (a) The Board is able to make the required findings; or (b) The maximum court ordered sentence, less good time, expires. (5) If, at the parole consideration hearing or at any subsequent review, the Board makes the findings required by section (2) of this rule, the Board shall order parole release, subject to ORS 144.125 144.270-144.275 regarding review of release plans and supervision conditions. (6) At any hearing or review, the Board may consider: (a) The examining psychologist or psychiatrist's written report; (b) A written report from the executive officer of Department of Corrections institution in which the inmate has been confined; (c) A release plan, including verification that adequate supervision and mental health treatment are immediately available for the particular inmate; (d) Any other information regarding the inmate that the Board finds relevant. (7) If after the Board makes the findings required by section (2) of this rule, resulting in the inmate’s release on parole, the Board later has reasonable cause to believe the inmate's dangerousness has returned and/or the inmate cannot be adequately controlled with supervision and mental health treatment or that the necessary resources for supervision and treatment are unavailable, the Board may order the inmate’s return to the custody of the Department of Corrections, and schedule a future disposition hearing to determine whether to deny re-release on parole pursuant to OAR 255-075-0096.