(a)(1) The board has the power to cause to be released on parole any person the department has declared eligible for parole consideration.(2) No person convicted of a sex crime shall be released on parole unless a psychiatrist or licensed psychologist designated as a health service provider has evaluated the inmate and determined to a reasonable medical or psychological certainty that the inmate does not pose the likelihood of committing sexual assaults upon release from confinement. The evaluations shall be provided by psychiatrists or licensed psychologists designated as health service providers whose services are contracted for and funded by the board.(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter relating to parole eligibility, and when acting pursuant to the Tennessee Contract Sentencing Act of 1979, compiled in chapter 34 of this title, the board is authorized to release a prisoner on parole on the date specified in a sentencing agreement entered into by the prisoner and the board. In granting parole, the board may impose any conditions and limitations that the board deems necessary, except that the board shall not require a condition or limitation to be completed prior to release on parole unless the department of correction recommends completion of the condition or limitation prior to release on parole.(c)(1) The board shall consider granting parole to a prisoner who has reached the release eligibility date for the prisoner’s combined state sentences and has an active detainer commitment to serve a term of imprisonment in a foreign jurisdiction if:
(A) The term of imprisonment in the foreign jurisdiction is greater than the period of imprisonment left to serve on the prisoner’s combined state sentences;(B) The prisoner would otherwise be eligible for parole consideration; and(C) The prisoner is a good candidate for parole release upon application of any release decision-making guidelines in use by the board.(2) When a prisoner has a parole hearing, the department of correction must provide information to the board regarding filed active detainer commitments in which the prisoner is to serve a term of imprisonment.(3) If parole release is granted to a detainer in a foreign jurisdiction, then the entity having custodial authority over the prisoner must file a notification request with the foreign jurisdiction for the remainder of any Tennessee sentence, prior to parole release.
