Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024
(a)
Parole Board policy and intent. It is the policy of the Board of Parole that
crime victims are an integral part of the criminal justice process, that they
should be treated with fairness, sensitivity and dignity at all times, and that
victims of the most serious crimes should be permitted an opportunity to make
an oral statement to a member of the Board of Parole in a setting that permits
confidentiality and a nonthreatening atmosphere. The board's intention is to
create a meaningful opportunity for individuals whose lives have been severely
affected by serious crimes to explain the impact of the crime in a face-to-face
setting. The board recognizes that some crimes may affect the lives of more
than one person and that in some cases a victim may need the support of another
person to enable him or her to make an oral statement to a board member.
However, the board has finite resources and must place limits on who may make
an oral statement, and under what circumstances and procedures, in order to
permit it to manage all of its statutory responsibilities. The board's policy
of permitting victim oral statements in some cases has been codified by the
Legislature in chapter 559 of the Laws of 1994, amending the Criminal Procedure
Law and the Executive Law. These regulations set forth the procedures and
limitations specified in Criminal Procedure Law, section 440.50.
(b) The Board of Parole will consider the
written or oral statement submitted or made by the crime victim, or the
victim's representative where the victim is deceased or is mentally or
physically incapacitated, prior to rendering a decision to grant or deny parole
release, provided that the victim's written statement is received by the
division at least 10 business days prior to the date of the inmate's scheduled
appearance before the board and that the request to make an oral statement
complies with the provisions of subdivisions (c) and (d) of this section. The
victim may obtain information concerning the inmate's scheduled appearance upon
written request to the Victim Impact Unit.
(c)
(1) A
written victim impact statement, or a request to make an oral statement, should
be addressed to the Victim Impact Unit, New York State Division of Parole, 97
Central Avenue, Albany, NY 12206.
(2) A request to make an oral victim impact
statement must be in writing, and such a request or a written victim impact
statement must clearly identify the inmate's name and New York State
identification number (NYSID or "NYSIIS" number, which consists of seven digits
followed by a letter). The NYSID number may be obtained from the office of the
district attorney in the county in which the inmate was convicted.
(3) A letter may serve as a written victim
impact statement. If a letter is received from a crime victim which does not
have a NYSID number, the Victim Impact Unit will attempt to identify the inmate
based upon whatever other identifying information may be contained in the
statement. If the Victim Impact Unit is unable to identify the inmate based on
the information provided, the victim will be so advised. If the appropriate
inmate can be identified, the written statement will be sent to the inmate's
facility of incarceration so that the statement may be available for
consideration by the board.
(d) Personal meetings between a crime victim
and a member of the board will be conducted for the purpose of permitting a
crime victim to make an oral victim impact statement only in accordance with
the procedures and limitations set forth in this section in order to permit the
board to allocate finite resources for this purpose. However, in its sole
discretion, the board may waive one or more requirements of this section in
order to further its policy of ensuring that crime victims are treated with
fairness, sensitivity and dignity.
(1) A
request to make an oral statement should be made not later than six months
before the inmate's appearance before the board for the board's decision
whether to grant or deny release.
(2) The time, place and date of the personal
meeting between the victim and a board member will be designated by the Victim
Impact Unit on behalf of the board.
(3) The personal meeting/victim oral
statement should be scheduled and take place at least 30 days prior to the
inmate's next appearance before the board for release consideration.
(4) The board reserves the right to limit the
victim oral statement to a reasonable time period.
(5) Limitation on who may make a statement.
In furtherance of its policy to create a meaningful opportunity for individuals
whose lives have been severely affected by serious crimes to explain the impact
of the crime in a face-to-face setting and its recognition that some crimes may
affect the lives of more than one person, the board may permit multiple oral
statements to be made. However, in order to conserve finite resources, the
board reserves the authority to permit only one oral statement by one victim,
or victim's representative, for one crime. A victim's representative may make
an oral statement in place of the victim only when the victim is deceased or
incapacitated, and the board reserves the authority to determine who, in a
specific case, is the appropriate victim's representative. In order to conserve
its finite resources, the board also limits the opportunity to make an oral
statement to victims of the following offenses, or a victim who the Chairman of
the Board of Parole has determined has been affected within the intent of this
policy by an offense other than one listed below:
(i) a violent felony offense, as defined in
Penal Law, section 70.02;
(ii) one
of the following A-I felonies: murder in the first degree, murder in the second
degree, kidnapping in the first degree and arson in the first degree when there
is serious physical injury to a nonparticipant or a nonparticipant is present
in the building or motor vehicle; or
(iii) one of the following offenses, which
are not included in Penal Law, section 70.02: manslaughter in the second
degree, vehicular manslaughter in the first degree, vehicular manslaughter in
the second degree, criminally negligent homicide, rape in the second degree,
rape in the third degree, sodomy in the second degree, sodomy in the third
degree, attempted sexual abuse in the first degree, attempted rape in the
second degree, attempted sodomy in the second degree.
(6) Limitation on content. The oral statement
may not simply repeat the circumstances of the crime. The oral statement should
describe the impact of the crime on the victim or the survivor.
(7) Method of recording the statement. The
board member conducting the personal meeting with the victim will prepare a
written report of the oral statement. A copy of the report will be sent to the
facility to be included in the inmate's parole folder so that it is available
for the board at the time of the inmate's board appearance. The written report
of the oral statement will be considered by the board panel that interviews the
inmate as one factor in making a decision whether to grant or deny release
pursuant to Executive Law, section
259-i(2).
(e) A written victim impact
statement or written report of an oral statement shall be maintained in
confidence by the division, unless disclosure to the inmate is expressly
authorized by the victim or by court order.