2007 Minnesota Statutes

244.05 SUPERVISED RELEASE TERM.
    Subdivision 1. Supervised release required. Except as provided in subdivisions 1b, 4, and
5, every inmate shall serve a supervised release term upon completion of the inmate's term of
imprisonment as reduced by any good time earned by the inmate or extended by confinement
in punitive segregation pursuant to section 244.04, subdivision 2. Except for a sex offender
conditionally released under Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 609.108, subdivision 5, the
supervised release term shall be equal to the period of good time the inmate has earned, and shall
not exceed the length of time remaining in the inmate's sentence.
    Subd. 1a. Release on certain days. Notwithstanding the amount of good time earned by
an inmate whose crime was committed before August 1, 1992, if the inmate's scheduled release
date occurs on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, the inmate's supervised release term shall
begin on the last day before the inmate's scheduled release date that is not a Friday, Saturday,
Sunday, or holiday. For an inmate whose crime was committed on or after August 1, 1992, if the
inmate's scheduled release date occurs on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, the inmate's
supervised release term shall begin on the first day after the inmate's scheduled release date that
is not a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or holiday.
    Subd. 1b. Supervised release; offenders who commit crimes on or after August 1,
1993. (a) Except as provided in subdivisions 4 and 5, every inmate sentenced to prison for a
felony offense committed on or after August 1, 1993, shall serve a supervised release term upon
completion of the inmate's term of imprisonment and any disciplinary confinement period
imposed by the commissioner due to the inmate's violation of any disciplinary rule adopted by the
commissioner or refusal to participate in a rehabilitative program required under section 244.03.
The amount of time the inmate serves on supervised release shall be equal in length to the amount
of time remaining in the inmate's executed sentence after the inmate has served the term of
imprisonment and any disciplinary confinement period imposed by the commissioner.
(b) No inmate who violates a disciplinary rule or refuses to participate in a rehabilitative
program as required under section 244.03 shall be placed on supervised release until the inmate
has served the disciplinary confinement period for that disciplinary sanction or until the inmate is
discharged or released from punitive segregation confinement, whichever is later. The imposition
of a disciplinary confinement period shall be considered to be a disciplinary sanction imposed
upon an inmate, and the procedure for imposing the disciplinary confinement period and the rights
of the inmate in the procedure shall be those in effect for the imposition of other disciplinary
sanctions at each state correctional institution.
    Subd. 1c. Release to residential program; escort required. The commissioner shall
provide an escort for any inmate on parole or supervised release status who is released to a
halfway house or other residential community program. The escort shall be an employee of the
commissioner or a person acting as the commissioner's agent for this purpose.
    Subd. 2. Rules. The commissioner of corrections shall adopt by rule standards and
procedures for the revocation of supervised or conditional release, and shall specify the period of
revocation for each violation of release. Procedures for the revocation of release shall provide
due process of law for the inmate.
    Subd. 3. Sanctions for violation. If an inmate violates the conditions of the inmate's
supervised release imposed by the commissioner, the commissioner may:
(1) continue the inmate's supervised release term, with or without modifying or enlarging the
conditions imposed on the inmate; or
(2) revoke the inmate's supervised release and reimprison the inmate for the appropriate
period of time.
The period of time for which a supervised release may be revoked may not exceed the
period of time remaining in the inmate's sentence, except that if a sex offender is sentenced
and conditionally released under Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 609.108, subdivision 5, the
period of time for which conditional release may be revoked may not exceed the balance of
the conditional release term.
    Subd. 4. Minimum imprisonment, life sentence. (a) An inmate serving a mandatory
life sentence under section 609.106 or 609.3455, subdivision 2, must not be given supervised
release under this section.
(b) An inmate serving a mandatory life sentence under section 609.185, clause (3), (5), or
(6); or Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 609.109, subdivision 3, must not be given supervised
release under this section without having served a minimum term of 30 years.
(c) An inmate serving a mandatory life sentence under section 609.385 must not be given
supervised release under this section without having served a minimum term of imprisonment of
17 years.
(d) An inmate serving a mandatory life sentence under section 609.3455, subdivision 3 or 4,
must not be given supervised release under this section without having served the minimum term
of imprisonment specified by the court in its sentence.
    Subd. 5. Supervised release, life sentence. (a) The commissioner of corrections may, under
rules promulgated by the commissioner, give supervised release to an inmate serving a mandatory
life sentence under section 609.185, clause (3), (5), or (6); 609.3455, subdivision 3 or 4; 609.385;
or Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 609.109, subdivision 3, after the inmate has served the
minimum term of imprisonment specified in subdivision 4.
(b) The commissioner shall require the preparation of a community investigation report and
shall consider the findings of the report when making a supervised release decision under this
subdivision. The report shall reflect the sentiment of the various elements of the community
toward the inmate, both at the time of the offense and at the present time. The report shall include
the views of the sentencing judge, the prosecutor, any law enforcement personnel who may have
been involved in the case, and any successors to these individuals who may have information
relevant to the supervised release decision. The report shall also include the views of the victim
and the victim's family unless the victim or the victim's family chooses not to participate.
(c) The commissioner shall make reasonable efforts to notify the victim, in advance, of
the time and place of the inmate's supervised release review hearing. The victim has a right to
submit an oral or written statement at the review hearing. The statement may summarize the harm
suffered by the victim as a result of the crime and give the victim's recommendation on whether
the inmate should be given supervised release at this time. The commissioner must consider the
victim's statement when making the supervised release decision.
(d) When considering whether to give supervised release to an inmate serving a life sentence
under section 609.3455, subdivision 3 or 4, the commissioner shall consider, at a minimum,
the following: the risk the inmate poses to the community if released, the inmate's progress in
treatment, the inmate's behavior while incarcerated, psychological or other diagnostic evaluations
of the inmate, the inmate's criminal history, and any other relevant conduct of the inmate while
incarcerated or before incarceration. The commissioner may not give supervised release to the
inmate unless:
(1) while in prison:
(i) the inmate has successfully completed appropriate sex offender treatment;
(ii) the inmate has been assessed for chemical dependency needs and, if appropriate, has
successfully completed chemical dependency treatment; and
(iii) the inmate has been assessed for mental health needs and, if appropriate, has successfully
completed mental health treatment; and
(2) a comprehensive individual release plan is in place for the inmate that ensures that,
after release, the inmate will have suitable housing and receive appropriate aftercare and
community-based treatment. The comprehensive plan also must include a postprison employment
or education plan for the inmate.
(e) As used in this subdivision, "victim" means the individual who suffered harm as a result of
the inmate's crime or, if the individual is deceased, the deceased's surviving spouse or next of kin.
    Subd. 6. Intensive supervised release. The commissioner may order that an inmate be
placed on intensive supervised release for all or part of the inmate's supervised release or parole
term if the commissioner determines that the action will further the goals described in section
244.14, subdivision 1, clauses (2), (3), and (4). In addition, the commissioner may order that an
inmate be placed on intensive supervised release for all of the inmate's conditional or supervised
release term if the inmate was convicted of a sex offense under section 609.342, 609.343, 609.344,
609.345, or 609.3453 or was sentenced under the provisions of section 609.3455, subdivision
3a . The commissioner shall order that all level III predatory offenders be placed on intensive
supervised release for the entire supervised release, conditional release, or parole term. The
commissioner may impose appropriate conditions of release on the inmate including but not
limited to unannounced searches of the inmate's person, vehicle, or premises by an intensive
supervision agent; compliance with court-ordered restitution, if any; random drug testing; house
arrest; daily curfews; frequent face-to-face contacts with an assigned intensive supervision agent;
work, education, or treatment requirements; and electronic surveillance. In addition, any sex
offender placed on intensive supervised release may be ordered to participate in an appropriate
sex offender program as a condition of release. If the inmate violates the conditions of the
intensive supervised release, the commissioner shall impose sanctions as provided in subdivision
3 and section 609.3455.
    Subd. 7. Sex offenders; civil commitment determination. (a) Before the commissioner
releases from prison any inmate convicted under section 609.342, 609.343, 609.344, 609.345,
or 609.3453, or sentenced as a patterned offender under section 609.3455, subdivision 3a, and
determined by the commissioner to be in a high risk category, the commissioner shall make
a preliminary determination whether, in the commissioner's opinion, a petition under section
253B.185 may be appropriate. The commissioner's opinion must be based on a recommendation
of a Department of Corrections screening committee and a legal review and recommendation from
independent counsel knowledgeable in the legal requirements of the civil commitment process.
The commissioner may retain a retired judge or other attorney to serve as independent counsel.
(b) In making this decision, the commissioner shall have access to the following data only
for the purposes of the assessment and referral decision:
(1) private medical data under section 13.384 or sections 144.291 to 144.298, or welfare data
under section 13.46 that relate to medical treatment of the offender;
(2) private and confidential court services data under section 13.84;
(3) private and confidential corrections data under section 13.85; and
(4) private criminal history data under section 13.87.
(c) If the commissioner determines that a petition may be appropriate, the commissioner
shall forward this determination, along with a summary of the reasons for the determination, to
the county attorney in the county where the inmate was convicted no later than 12 months before
the inmate's release date. If the inmate is received for incarceration with fewer than 12 months
remaining in the inmate's term of imprisonment, or if the commissioner receives additional
information less than 12 months before release that makes the inmate's case appropriate for
referral, the commissioner shall forward the determination as soon as is practicable. Upon
receiving the commissioner's preliminary determination, the county attorney shall proceed in the
manner provided in section 253B.185. The commissioner shall release to the county attorney all
requested documentation maintained by the department.
    Subd. 8. Conditional medical release. Notwithstanding subdivisions 4 and 5, the
commissioner may order that any offender be placed on conditional medical release before the
offender's scheduled supervised release date or target release date if the offender suffers from a
grave illness or medical condition and the release poses no threat to the public. In making the
decision to release an offender on this status, the commissioner must consider the offender's age
and medical condition, the health care needs of the offender, the offender's custody classification
and level of risk of violence, the appropriate level of community supervision, and alternative
placements that may be available for the offender. An inmate may not be released under this
provision unless the commissioner has determined that the inmate's health costs are likely to be
borne by medical assistance, Medicaid, general assistance medical care, veteran's benefits, or by
any other federal or state medical assistance programs or by the inmate. Conditional medical
release is governed by provisions relating to supervised release except that it may be rescinded
without hearing by the commissioner if the offender's medical condition improves to the extent
that the continuation of the conditional medical release presents a more serious risk to the public.
History: 1978 c 723 art 1 s 5; 1983 c 274 s 7; 1984 c 381 s 3; 1986 c 444; 1989 c 290 art
2 s 5-7; art 4 s 4,5; 1990 c 568 art 2 s 32; 1991 c 258 s 1; 1992 c 571 art 1 s 3-7; art 2 s 5,6;
art 3 s 3; art 11 s 3; 1993 c 326 art 4 s 5,6; art 8 s 9; art 9 s 5; 1994 c 636 art 6 s 13; 1Sp1994
c 1 art 2 s 22; 1997 c 239 art 9 s 25; 1998 c 367 art 3 s 4; art 6 s 15; 1999 c 126 s 9; 2002 c
273 s 1; 2005 c 10 art 1 s 40,41; 2005 c 136 art 2 s 2-4; art 3 s 10,11; 2006 c 260 art 1 s 47;
2007 c 13 art 3 s 37; 2007 c 147 art 10 s 15