Provides that prisoners who committed offenses prior to age 18 and were sentenced as adults be eligible for parole after completing 15 yrs of their sentence. Would not lengthen parole eligibility should prisoner be eligible for parole earlier than 15 yrs.

Plain-English Summary

This bill would change parole rules for people who committed crimes before they turned 18 but were tried and sentenced as adults in Rhode Island. Under this proposal, those individuals would become eligible to apply for parole after serving 15 years of their sentence, regardless of how long their total sentence is. This creates a specific parole opportunity for juvenile offenders who ended up in the adult prison system.

Importantly, the bill includes a protective clause: if a person in this situation would already become eligible for parole *before* the 15-year mark under existing rules, this new law would not delay or override that earlier eligibility. In other words, the 15-year provision only helps people who would otherwise have to wait longer — it never makes things harder for them.

This bill would affect people currently serving adult prison sentences for crimes they committed as minors, as well as anyone sentenced in the future under similar circumstances. It does not guarantee anyone will be released — it simply gives them the right to appear before the parole board and have their case considered after 15 years. The parole board would still make the final decision about whether release is appropriate.

The bill has been introduced and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where it will be reviewed before any further action is taken. No final vote has occurred yet.