Bill > H2398

This bill aims to promote equitable access to parole in Massachusetts. It makes several key changes: 1. It requires the parole board to have members with expertise in fields like psychiatry, psychology, and substance use treatment, as well as at least one formerly incarcerated member. 2. It mandates annual training on cultural competency, implicit bias, and structural racism for parole board members, officers, and staff. 3. It expands eligibility for parole to certain life sentence prisoners and requires public hearings and timely decisions on parole applications. 4. It outlines criteria for granting parole, including completion of programs and low-risk assessments, and limits the parole board's ability to consider certain types of evidence. 5. It requires recordings of parole hearings to be made public and gives prisoners access to information provided to the board. 6. It restricts the types of parole conditions that can be imposed and requires the board to provide support for parolees to enroll in required programs. 7. It requires the parole board to collect and publicly report data on parole decisions, including demographic information, to monitor for disparities. Overall, the bill aims to make the parole process more transparent, equitable, and supportive of successful reintegration into the community.