TO: MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE AND GOVERNOR OF MISSISSIPPI

SUBJECT: RELIEF FOR THE NON VIOLENT HABITUAL OFFENDER

GREETINGS:

As we all know House Bill 585 was passed in 2014 as well as Senate Bill 1267 in 2015. These bills were designed to help the non violent Habitual Offender while decreasing the prison population as well as saving hard earned tax payer dollars. However, our data collected this year shows that approximately 95% of the individuals who petition the trial court for a parole get denied. This tells us that the majority of the trial court judges will not consider giving these non violent offenders the opportunity to go before the parole board.
Senate Bill 1377 which died in calendar in 2020 would have been very effective. The vast majority of the Senate and the House voted in favor of 1377 but somehow it didn't get to the governor's desk in due time.
Mississippi has one of the highest percentages of COVID cases and deaths per capital. This trickles down into the prison system as well. Covid is definitely inside the prison system and will continue to spread due to overcrowding and inhumane living conditions.
In the case of inmate Gregory Hopkins, he is 64 years of age and has served nearly 90 percent of his sentence under the non violent habitual statute. Since 2015, Mr. Hopkins has been petitioning the trial court for a parole opportunity but has constantly been denied. Mr. Hopkins recently contracted Covid and is suffering from the complications. There are many others incarcerated that are in the same exact predicament as Mr. Hopkins. As well there are so many cases where individuals have been sentenced to serve a mandatory 30 to 70 years due to the Non Violent Habitual Law.
A new bill is needed that would include but not limited to the following language:

A.) Any conviction that occurred 15 years prior to a new conviction that resulted in someone being sentenced as an habitual offender should not be used against the individual under the habitual Law

B) All non violent habitual offenders should have the opportunity to go before the parole board after serving 50 percent of their time or serving 10 years, whichever comes first.

In conclusion, for far too long many inmates and their family members have suffered from so much pain and distress due to the oversentencing under the non violent habitual law. We need the Mississippi Legislature and the Governor to make an immediate change. Thank you for your time and consideration.

SINCERELY,

MERCIFUL CITIZENS