General Provisions

(1) The Parole Board shall notify victims of an offender's parole eligibility and parole status pursuant to M.G.L. c. 258B, § 3 and in accordance with the procedures that follow. Unless specifically stated otherwise, notification shall be by first class mail to the last known address of the victim as recorded by the Parole Board or the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services’ Victim Notification Registry. (2) Victims may submit a written statement to the Parole Board regarding the impact of the crime and the victims’ opinion and/or recommendation regarding parole release. Statements submitted by a victim, whether oral, written, or electronically recorded, may be considered evaluative or intelligence information according to 120 CMR 500.00: Dissemination of CORI, Evaluative Information, and Intelligence Information and may be kept confidential if necessary to protect anyone from harm or to protect the source of information pursuant to M.G.L. c. 127, § 130. (3) Failure of victims to respond to the Parole Board’s notice of a parole hearing will not cause the hearing to be postponed.