HB5399 Engrossed

LRB096 18317 RLC 33692 b





  
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    AN ACT concerning criminal law.
  
 
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    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
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represented in the General Assembly:
  
 
 
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    Section 5. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended  by 
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changing Section 3-3-13 as follows:
 



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    (730 ILCS 5/3-3-13)  (from Ch. 38, par. 1003-3-13)



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    Sec. 3-3-13. Procedure for Executive Clemency. 

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    (a) Petitions seeking pardon, commutation, or reprieve 
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shall be
addressed to the Governor and filed with the Prisoner 
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Review
Board.  The petition shall be in writing and signed by 
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the
person under conviction or by a person on his behalf. It 
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shall
contain a brief history of the case, the reasons for 
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seeking
executive clemency, and other relevant information the 
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Board may require.

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    (a-5) After a petition has been denied by the Governor, the 
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Board may not
accept a repeat petition for executive clemency 
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for the same person until one
full year has elapsed from the 
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date of the denial.  The Chairman of the Board
may waive the 
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one-year requirement if the petitioner offers in writing
new 
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information that was unavailable to the petitioner at the time

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of the filing of the prior petition and which the Chairman 
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determines to be
significant.  The Chairman also may waive the 
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one-year
waiting period if the petitioner can show that a 
 


 






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change in circumstances of a
compelling humanitarian nature has 
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arisen since the denial of the prior
petition.

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    (b) Notice of the proposed application shall be given by

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the Board to the committing court and the state's attorney of

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the county where the conviction was had.

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    (c) The Board shall, if requested and upon due notice,
give 
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a hearing to each application, allowing representation by

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counsel, if desired, after which it shall confidentially
advise 
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the Governor by a written report of its recommendations
which 
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shall be determined by majority vote. The Board shall
meet to 
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consider such petitions no less than 4 times each
year.

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    Application for executive clemency under this Section may 
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not be commenced
on behalf of a person who has been sentenced 
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to death without the written
consent of the defendant, unless 
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the defendant, because of a mental or
physical condition, is 
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incapable of asserting his or her own claim.

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    (d) The Governor shall, to the extent possible, decide each 
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application and
communicate his decision to the Board within 
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one year after the hearing by the Board on the petition seeking 
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a pardon, commutation, or reprieve.  The Board which shall 
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notify the
petitioner of the Governor's decision.

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    In the event a petitioner who has been convicted of a Class 
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X felony is
granted a release, after the Governor has 
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communicated such decision to
the Board, the Board shall give 
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written notice to the Sheriff of the county
from which the 
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offender was sentenced if such sheriff has requested that
such 
 


 






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notice be given on a continuing basis. In cases where arrest of 
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the
offender or the commission of the offense took place in any 
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municipality
with a population of more than 10,000 persons, the 
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Board shall also give
written notice to the proper law 
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enforcement agency for said municipality
which has requested 
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notice on a continuing basis.

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    (e) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to limit the 
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power of the
Governor under the constitution to grant a 
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reprieve, commutation of sentence,
or pardon.

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(Source: P.A. 89-112, eff. 7-7-95; 89-684, eff. 6-1-97.)

 
 
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    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
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becoming law.