Rhode Island General Laws 12-28-6. Right to address parole board
(a) Prior to acting upon the petition or any continuance of the petition of an inmate at the adult correctional institutions or the women’s reformatory, the parole board shall notify the victim, if he or she is identified and his or her residence is known, of the criminal conduct for which the inmate has been incarcerated and of the pendency of the proceedings before the board. The victim shall upon request be afforded the opportunity to address the board regarding the impact of the crime upon the victim; provided, that the board may, in its discretion, permit the parent and/or legal guardian of a victim who is a minor at the time of the hearing to address the board on behalf of the minor.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 12-28-6
- Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- town: may be construed to include city; the words "town council" include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9
(b) Should the parole board be unable to locate the victim, the board shall seek the assistance of the local police department of the city or town where the victim was last known to have resided. The police department shall make every effort to locate the victim and shall, no later than thirty (30) days from the date its assistance was sought, send a written report to the parole board detailing its efforts to locate the victim.
(c) Whenever the parole board shall seek the assistance of any police department in locating a victim, the board shall not act upon the inmate’s petition until it has reviewed the written report from the assisting police department.
(d) For the purposes of this section, “victim” is one who has sustained personal injury or loss of property directly attributable to the criminal conduct for which the inmate has been incarcerated. In homicide cases, a member of the immediate family of the victim shall be afforded the right created by this section.
(e) The board shall also make a reasonable effort to notify the victim of the crime committed by the prisoner, or, in homicide cases, the victim’s next of kin, and/or, in cases where the victim is a minor, the victim’s parent and/or legal guardian, not less than thirty (30) days prior to the meeting, of his or her right to provide a victim impact statement to the board.
As used in this chapter, “victim impact statement” means a statement providing information about the financial, emotional, and physical effects of a crime on the victim and the victim’s family, and specific information about the victim, the circumstances surrounding the crime, and the manner in which it was perpetrated.
History of Section.
P.L. 1983, ch. 265, § 1; P.L. 1985, ch. 411, § 1; P.L. 1989, ch. 419, § 2; P.L. 1999, ch. 472, § 2.