Request By:
Mr. Harry Rothgerber, Jr.
Parole Board Member
Department of Justice
Parole Board
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Suzanne Guss, Assistant Attorney General
This is in response to your request for an opinion of this office and our recent telephone conversation regarding the interpretation of KRS 533.060(3). You have asked what effect, if any, does the running of sentences concurrently, in violation of KRS 533.060(3), have upon parole eligibility.
KRS 533.060(3) provides:
"When a person commits an offense while awaiting trial for another offense, and is subsequently convicted or enters a plea of guilty to the offense committed while awaiting trial, the sentence imposed for the offense committed while awaiting trial shall not run concurrently with confinement for the offense for which said person is awaiting trial. "
The language of this subsection indicates that imposition of consecutive sentences is mandatory where a person commits and is convicted of another offense while awaiting trial. See
Woods v. Commonwealth, Ky., 305 S.W.2d 935, 937 (1957). If, however, the trial court fails to comply with the statute and imposes concurrent sentences, the Parole Board has no authority to alter that designation for the purpose of determining parole eligibility. If the trial court erroneously imposes concurrent sentences, they may not be added together to determine eligibility for parole review, as is required for consecutive sentences under 501 KAR 1:011, Section 3. The Parole Board is bound by the judgment of the trial court.
We trust this information has satisfactorily answered your inquiry. If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.