Release Questions — Ask the Inmate
The days and weeks leading up to a release date are filled with practical questions that the facility is often not equipped to answer clearly. What time will they be released? What do they leave with? What happens if the release date changes? What is the difference between a projected release date and an actual release date? This section covers everything families need to know about the release process including how release dates are calculated, what good time and earned time credits do to the projected date, what an inmate receives upon release, how transportation from the facility works, what the first 24 hours after release typically look like, and how to prepare as a family for the moment the door opens. The guidance here comes from people who have walked out those doors and from families who were waiting on the other side. See also our sections on Halfway House, Parole and Probation, and Re-entry and Rehabilitation.
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No, it does not mean he can bond out on that date. An earliest release date set by the Department of Corrections means the system has calculated the minimum point at which he becomes eligible for release based on his sentence. It is the floor, not a guarantee, and it has nothing to do with bail or bonding out. What most likely happened is that the parole hold was resolved and he was sentenced on whatever he was picked
Read moreA parole board changing release dates multiple times is frustrating but not uncommon, and it usually reflects one of a few things happening on the back end. The most common reason is that the inmate's program or treatment placement has changed. Your son's situation illustrates this directly. When a sentence is modified from a therapeutic addiction program to long-term parole board supervision, the entire release calculation changes. A therapeutic program has a defined completion timeline. Long-term parole board jurisdiction
Read moreRelease dates are calculated by the Department of Corrections, not by the court or the jail. The jail holds him and the court handles sentencing, but the actual release date math happens at the DOC level once all the paperwork is processed. That is why the jail may not have a firm date to give you, particularly when his situation involves multiple overlapping matters. Right now his case has moving parts that make a release date harder to nail
Read moreThere is no request process for family members to initiate early release, and facilities do not factor outside requests from loved ones into release decisions. That is simply not how it works at any level of the system. For a sentence this short, with release already coming in November, there is also no practical mechanism to pursue. Early release programs, compassionate release, and sentence reduction petitions are processes that apply to significantly longer sentences where meaningful time can be
Read moreYou would have to contact the facility and ask the staff what they allow.
Read moreIf it is not posted on the facility website, you would need to contact his case manager (your inmate DEFINITELY knows his out-date) to get that information
Read moreIt is frustrating, but it does not constitute a legal violation and it does not entitle him to a reduced sentence. There is no requirement that prison staff proactively deliver release date information to an inmate following a parole board decision. The expectation in the system is that inmates take responsibility for tracking their own case status, and the way to do that is to go directly to the unit counselor or case manager and ask. If he had walked
Read moreWorking through the math: with 42 days of time served credited against a 120-day sentence, he has 78 days remaining from his June 1 sentencing date. That puts the estimated release date around August 18, 2016. Good time credit on a sentence this short is minimal to nonexistent. Most jurisdictions do not apply meaningful good time reductions on sentences under six months, so August 18 is the realistic target date rather than something meaningfully earlier, unless there is severe
Read moreIt takes a few weeks before they calculate and post the date
Read moreIn most cases, an inmate cannot be released before their earliest release or parole eligibility date. That date is set by the court and corrections system, and it marks the first point they can even be considered for release, not a guaranteed release. Parole eligibility depends on how the sentence was structured in the judgment. If parole is part of the sentence, the inmate can be reviewed by the parole board once they reach that eligibility date. Before that,
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