Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for Shetova Hayes's 2019 statutory initiative cutting the dangerous-felony first-time minimum prison term from 85% to 50% (file 2020-092)?
Plain-English summary
Petition 2020-092 was Shetova Hayes's statutory initiative to amend Chapter 558 RSMo (Missouri's general sentencing statute). Under existing Missouri law, a person convicted of a "dangerous felony" (a category that includes arson, assault, murder, and robbery, defined in § 556.061 RSMo) must serve at least 85% of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole. The Hayes petition would have:
- Reduced the first-time minimum to 50% (with no change for second and subsequent convictions, which would remain at 85%);
- Applied the change retroactively to offenders convicted of dangerous felonies committed on or after August 28, 1994 (Missouri's modern criminal-code effective date); and
- Required automatic parole for inmates with the best possible institutional score.
The retroactive scope is the most consequential piece. Applied to all post-1994 dangerous-felony first-time convictions, the petition would have moved an enormous Missouri prison-population segment closer to immediate release.
After the Secretary of State drafted the ballot summary, the AG reviewed it under § 116.334 RSMo. AG Schmitt's letter here approves the legal content and form of that summary. The AG's role is narrow: a legal-form check on the ballot summary. It is not a policy endorsement.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 2019. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
The exact ballot summary the AG approved
Do you want to amend Missouri law regarding minimum prison terms for offenders found guilty of dangerous felonies (includes arson, assault, murder and robbery) as follows:
- for the first conviction, the offender must serve 50% of the court sentence (current law is 85%);
- for the second and subsequent convictions, the offender must serve 85% of the court sentence (no change to current law);
- this amendment will be effective for all dangerous felonies occurring on or after August 28, 1994; and
- require parole to be granted to offenders with the best possible institutional score?
Common questions
Q: What is a "dangerous felony" in Missouri?
A: § 556.061 RSMo defines the term. It includes arson in the first degree, assault in the first degree, attempted rape, attempted forcible sodomy, conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, murder, rape, robbery in the first degree, statutory rape, and several other listed offenses. Whether a particular conviction qualifies depends on the offense's classification at the time it was committed, which has shifted over time.
Q: How does Missouri's "85% rule" work today?
A: A defendant sentenced for a dangerous felony must serve at least 85% of the sentence before parole eligibility. There is a separate "minimum prison term" provision (§ 558.019 RSMo) that applies to repeat offenders generally. Both rules together mean dangerous-felony offenders typically serve substantial portions of their court-imposed sentences.
Q: Why date the change to August 28, 1994?
A: That is when Missouri's modern criminal code went into effect. The petition aligns its retroactive scope with the era of statutory rules whose architecture this petition would alter.
Q: What does "best possible institutional score" mean?
A: The Missouri Department of Corrections assigns institutional behavior scores based on conduct, program participation, work assignments, and other factors. The petition would have made the highest-tier score a basis for mandatory parole, removing parole-board discretion for that category of inmate.
Q: Did the petition reach the ballot?
A: The opinion does not say. Hayes's 2020-092 petition does not appear to have advanced to the 2020 ballot.
Q: Who can challenge the summary statement?
A: § 116.190 RSMo lets any registered voter challenge the official ballot summary as "insufficient or unfair" by filing suit in Cole County circuit court within ten days of certification.
Background and statutory framework
Chapter 116 RSMo lays out the initiative-petition pipeline:
- Proponent files the petition with the Secretary of State.
- AG reviews sufficiency as to form under § 116.332 RSMo.
- State Auditor prepares a fiscal note; AG reviews under § 116.175.4 RSMo.
- Secretary of State drafts a summary statement; AG reviews under § 116.334 RSMo (this opinion).
- Petition certified for circulation.
Citations and references
Statutes: § 116.334 RSMo (the operative provision); § 116.190 RSMo (judicial challenges); § 116.175 RSMo (fiscal-note pipeline); § 116.332 RSMo (sufficiency-as-to-form); Chapter 558 RSMo (sentencing); § 558.019 RSMo (minimum prison terms); § 556.061 RSMo (definition of "dangerous felony").
Source
- Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/
- Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/158-2019.pdf?sfvrsn=2
Original opinion text
Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain, the linked PDF is authoritative.
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
ERIC SCHMITT
July 29, 2019
OPINION LETTER NO. 158-2019
The Honorable John R. Ashcroft
Missouri Secretary of State
James C. Kirkpatrick State Information Center
600 West Main Street
Jefferson City, MO 65101
Dear Secretary Ashcroft:
This opinion letter responds to your request dated July 19, 2019, for our review under § 116.334, RSMo, of a proposed summary statement prepared for the petition submitted by Shetova Hayes regarding a proposed amendment to amend Chapter 558, Revised Statutes of Missouri (2020-092). The proposed summary statement is as follows:
Do you want to amend Missouri law regarding minimum prison terms for offenders found guilty of dangerous felonies (includes arson, assault, murder and robbery) as follows:
- for the first conviction, the offender must serve 50% of the court sentence (current law is 85%);
- for the second and subsequent convictions, the offender must serve 85% of the court sentence (no change to current law);
- this amendment will be effective for all dangerous felonies occurring on or after August 28, 1994; and
- require parole to be granted to offenders with the best possible institutional score?
Pursuant to § 116.334, RSMo, we approve the legal content and form of the proposed statement. Because our review of the statement is mandated by statute, no action that we take with respect to such review should be construed as an endorsement of the petition, nor as the expression of any view regarding the objectives of its proponents.
Very truly yours,
ERIC S. SCHMITT
Attorney General
Supreme Court Building
207 W. High Street
P.O. Box 899
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Phone: (573) 751-3321
Fax: (573) 751-0774
www.ago.mo.gov
OP-2019-0083