Laws

Legal Provisions

Penal Code §4801
(amended by SB 499, chaptered on 9/26/00)

Commutation of Sentence or Pardon on Account of Battered Women's Syndrome

For original text, see the official site for California legislative information.--Click on California Law, Check the box for Penal Code, Type: 4801 in the search box, and then Click the Search button.

(a) The Board of Prison Terms may report to the Governor, from time to time, the names of any and all persons imprisoned in any state prison who, in its judgment, ought to have a commutation of sentence or be pardoned and set at liberty on account of good conduct, or unusual term of sentence, or any other cause, including evidence of battered woman syndrome. For purposes of this section, "evidence of battered woman syndrome" may include evidence of the effects of physical, emotional, or mental abuse upon the beliefs, perceptions, or behavior of victims of domestic violence where it appears the criminal behavior was the result of that victimization. (emphasis added)

(b) The Board of Prison Terms, in reviewing a prisoner's suitability for parole pursuant to Section 3041.5, shall consider any information or evidence that, at the time of the commission of the crime, the prisoner had suffered from battered woman syndrome, but was convicted of the offense prior to the enactment of Section 1107 of the Evidence Code by Chapter 812 of the Statutes of 1991. The board shall state on the record the information or evidence that it considered pursuant to this subdivision, and the reasons for the parole decision. The board shall annually report to the Legislature and the Governor on the cases the board considered pursuant to this subdivision during the previous year, including the board's decision and the findings of its investigations of these cases.