A GUIDE TO PREPARING FOR YOUR MURDER REVIEW HEARING

What is a Murder Review Hearing?

A “murder review hearing” – commonly called a “rehabilitation hearing” – applies to anyone convicted of:

• Aggravated murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a 20- to 30- year minimum, or

• Murder, committed on or after June 30, 1995, and sentenced to life imprisonment with a 25-year minimum.

A rehabilitation hearing is required before the Board can set a release date. It is not a release hearing. It is a hearing that the Board holds to consider converting a life sentence from life without the possibility of release, to life with the possibility of release.

A note from the author:

This guide offers an overview of the “murder review” or “rehabilitation” hearing process conducted by the Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision (Board) for people convicted of murder or aggravated murder. We hope this information will help you begin to think about and prepare for your rehabilitation hearing.

This guide provides general information. It is not legal advice. For advice specific to your situation, facts, and case, speak to an attorney or legal assistant.

The information provided here is based on the most current law available at the time this guide was written. However, it is important to remember that laws frequently change. Rather than relying only on this guide, you should read all the relevant statutes, rules and cases and do your own research to make sure that the law has not changed significantly since this guide was written.

Mark Wilson
Special Advisor to the Oregon Justice Resource Center Youth Justice Project
Incarcerated in Oregon