In re Butler

-Roy Thinnes Butler, a parole-eligible life prisoner, challenged the constitutionality of the process used by the Board of Parole Hearings (Board) to determine whether prisoners such as him are suitable for release on parole. Specifically, he contended that the Board’s practice of deferring the fixing of a prisoner’s base term (which measures individual culpability for the commitment offense) and adjusted base term (which modifies the base term on the basis of factors relating to other offenses) until after he or she is deemed suitable for release, effectively eliminated any meaningful consideration of proportionality in sentencing during the most crucial portion of the parole process, and therefore facilitated imposition of constitutionally excessive punishment.

Before the completion of briefing, the parties settled their dispute by stipulating to an order of this court directing the Board to publicly announce and implement new policies and procedures that would result in the setting of base terms and adjusted base terms at life inmates’ initial parole consideration hearings or, if that hearing had already taken place, at the next hearing resulting in a grant or denial…