Offenders become eligible for parole at various stages of their incarceration depending upon the statute they were convicted under. See Title 57 O.S. Section 332.7 for more information on parole eligibility.
“A. For a crime committed prior to July 1, 1998, any person in the custody of the Department of Corrections shall be eligible for consideration for parole at the earliest of the following dates:
Has completed serving one-third (1/3) of the sentence;
B. For a crime committed on or after July 1, 1998, any person in the custody of the Department of Corrections shall be eligible for consideration for parole who has completed serving one-third (1/3) of the sentence; provided, however, no inmate serving a sentence of life imprisonment without parole shall be eligible to be considered for parole pursuant to this subsection.
C.The parole hearings conducted for persons pursuant to paragraph 3 of subsection A of this section or for any person who was convicted of a violent crime as set forth in Section 571 of this title and who is eligible for parole consideration pursuant to either paragraph 1 of subsection A of this section or subsection B of this section shall be conducted in two stages, as follows:
D. Any inmate who has parole consideration dates calculated pursuant to subsection A, B, or C of this section shall be considered at the earliest such date. Except as otherwise directed by the Pardon and Parole Board, any person who has been considered for parole and was denied parole or who has waived consideration shall not be reconsidered for parole:
E. Any person in the custody of the Department of Corrections for a crime committed prior to July 1, 1998, who has been considered for parole on a docket created for a type of parole consideration that has been abolished by the Legislature shall not be considered for parole except in accordance with this section.
F. The Pardon and Parole Board shall promulgate rules for the implementation of subsections A, B and C of this section. The rules shall include, but not be limited to, procedures for reconsideration of persons denied parole under this section and procedure for determining what sentence a person eligible for parole consideration pursuant to subsection A of this section would have received under the applicable matrix.
G. The Pardon and Parole Board shall not recommend to the Governor any person who has been convicted of three or more felonies arising out of separate and distinct transactions, with three or more incarcerations for such felonies, unless such person shall have served the lesser of at least one-third (1/3) of the sentence imposed, or ten (10) years; provided that whenever the population of the prison system exceeds ninety-five percent (95%) of the capacity as certified by the State Board of Corrections, the Pardon and Parole Board may, at its discretion, recommend to the Governor for parole any person who is incarcerated for a nonviolent offense not involving injury to a person and who is within six (6) months of his or her statutory parole eligibility date.
H. It shall be the duty of the Pardon and Parole Board to cause an examination to be made at the penal institution where the person is assigned, and to make inquiry into the conduct and the record of the said person during his custody in the Department of Corrections, which shall be considered as a basis for consideration of said person for recommendation to the Governor for parole. However, the Pardon and Parole Board shall not be required to consider for parole any person who has completed the time period provided for in this subsection if the person has participated in a riot or in the taking of hostages, or has been placed on escape status, while in the custody of the Department of Corrections. The Pardon and Parole Board shall adopt policies and procedures governing parole consideration for such persons.
I. Any person in the custody of the Department of Corrections who is convicted of an offense not designated as a violent offense by Section 571 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes and who is not a citizen of the United States and is or becomes subject of a final order of deportation issued by the United States Department of Justice shall be considered for parole to the custody of the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service for continuation of deportation proceedings at any time subsequent to reception and processing through the Department of Corrections.
J. Upon application of any person convicted and sentenced by a court of this state and relinquished to the custody of another state or federal authorities pursuant to Section 61.2 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes, the Pardon and Parole Board may determine a parole consideration date consistent with the provisions of this section and criteria established by the Pardon and Parole Board.
K. No person who is appearing out of the normal processing procedure shall be eligible for consideration for parole without the concurrence of at least three (3) members of the Pardon and Parole Board.
L. All references in this section to matrices or schedules shall be construed with reference to the provisions of Sections 6, 598, 599, 600 and 601, Chapter 133, O.S.L. 1997.
M. Any person in the custody of the Department of Corrections who is convicted of a felony sex offense pursuant to Section 582 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes who is paroled shall immediately be placed on intensive supervision.”
Every offender has the right to waive his/her parole hearing. They must do so at least two (2) weeks prior to the scheduled Board Meeting to allow for proper and timely processing of the waiver request. Each offender wishing to waive his/her parole consideration must complete a waiver form with his/her signature and the signature of a witness then submit that waiver form to the Parole Board Investigator for processing to the Parole Board Administrative Office.
If an offender wishes to waive his/her parole hearing after the two (2) week deadline has passed they may waive only their personal appearance but not the parole hearing. The Board will then proceed with the parole hearing via “jacket review”.