Section 42-9-42. Procedure for granting relief from sentence; conditions and prerequisites; violation of parole  


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  •    (a) No person shall be granted clemency, pardon, parole, or other relief from sentence except by a majority vote of the board. A majority of the members of the board may commute a death sentence to life imprisonment, as provided in Code Section 42-9-20.

    (b) A grant of clemency, pardon, parole, or other relief from sentence shall be rendered only by a written decision which shall be signed by at least the number of board members required for the relief granted and which shall become a part of the permanent record.

    (c) Good conduct, achievement of a fifth-grade level or higher on standardized reading tests, and efficient performance of duties by an inmate shall be considered by the board in his favor and shall merit consideration of an application for pardon or parole. No inmate shall be placed on parole until and unless the board shall find that there is reasonable probability that, if he is so released, he will live and conduct himself as a respectable and law-abiding person and that his release will be compatible with his own welfare and the welfare of society. Furthermore, no person shall be released on pardon or placed on parole unless and until the board is satisfied that he will be suitably employed in self-sustaining employment or that he will not become a public charge. However, notwithstanding other provisions of this chapter, the board may, in its discretion, grant pardon or parole to any aged or disabled persons.

    (d) (1) Any person who is paroled shall be released on such terms and conditions as the board shall prescribe. The board shall diligently see that no peonage is allowed in the guise of parole relationship or supervision. The parolee shall remain in the legal custody of the board until the expiration of the maximum term specified in his sentence or until he is pardoned by the board.

       (2) The board may require the payment of a parole supervision fee of at least $10.00 per month as a condition of parole or other conditional release. The monthly amount shall be set by rule of the board and shall be uniform state wide. The board may require or the parolee or person under conditional release may request that up to 24 months of the supervision fee be paid in advance of the time to be spent on parole or conditional release. In such cases, any advance payments are nonreimbursable in the event of parole or conditional release revocation or if parole or conditional release is otherwise terminated prior to the expiration of the sentence being served on parole or conditional release. Such fees shall be collected by the board to be paid into the general fund of the state treasury.

    (e) If a parolee violates the terms of his parole, he shall be subject to rearrest or extradition for placement in the actual custody of the board, to be redelivered to any state or county correctional institution of this state.
Ga. L. 1943, p. 185, § 13; Ga. L. 1974, p. 474, § 1; Ga. L. 1975, p. 795, § 1; Ga. L. 1984, p. 775, § 1; Ga. L. 1985, p. 414, § 1; Ga. L. 1986, p. 1596, § 3.