Every day served inside is a day that cannot be recovered. Understanding every legal and programmatic tool available to reduce a sentence is essential knowledge for any inmate and their family. The federal system offers multiple pathways, standard good time credits, First Step Act earned time credits through programming, RDAP sentence reduction of up to 12 months, compassionate release for qualifying medical conditions, and substantial assistance motions filed by the government. State systems have their own tools including good time credits that vary dramatically from 15 percent to 67 percent depending on the state. This section covers all of these pathways in plain language, who qualifies for each, how they interact with each other, and what realistic expectations look like for different situations. The guidance here is practical and honest about what is available and what is not. See also our sections on RDAP, First Step Act, Parole and Probation, and Post Conviction Appeals.
Subject: Sentence reduction
Yes it is a good feeling to have your sentence reduced unless you have to cooperate with the government to get the reduction. Then there is a measure of guilt for putting someone else behind bars and making them miserable because you can't do the time you "earned" for your own crime (our opinion).
If you get a reduction for taking the RDAP program, then there is a greater measure of accomplishment as you got the reward for helping yourself and...
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Camp placement is not something families can request directly from the outside. The assignment process runs through the Bureau of Prisons classification system for federal inmates or the state department of corrections equivalent and it is driven by the inmate's individual profile rather than family preference.
The classification system uses a point scoring model that evaluates several factors to determine custody level. Sentence length is one of the most significant. Shorter sentences generally produce lower point totals which favor camp placement....
Read moreSubject: Sentence reduction
This is one of the most legitimate and most pursued avenues for post conviction relief and the fact that you feel the representation was inadequate gives you a specific legal foundation worth exploring seriously.
The Sixth Amendment guarantees every defendant the right to effective assistance of counsel. When that right is violated and the inadequate representation contributed to an unjust outcome, there are legal mechanisms designed to address it. The challenge is that the legal standard for proving ineffective assistance is...
Read moreSubject: Sentence reduction
This is a genuinely frustrating situation and the honest answer is that formal sentence reduction credit for an incomplete program is unlikely, but the effort and participation are not without value and there are steps worth taking.
Most sentence reduction programs, including state equivalents of RDAP and county-based rehabilitation programs like Exodus, require documented completion before any formal credit applies. Four days short of graduation is agonizingly close but incomplete is still incomplete in the eyes of the system. The transfer...
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It is like military training, there is a lot of marching and exercising, doing chores that require exertion. There is also a mental toughness element where they test the temperament of the inmates during these tasks, sort of like a drill sergeant in basic training. They work them hard, they are plenty exhausted when they check into their bunks to go to sleep. Not a lot of time for nonsense or trouble-making. It's designed to break young men from breaking the law into...
Read moreSubject: Sentence reduction
This is a reasonable question and the answer depends on a few factors that vary by jurisdiction and by how the new charge gets handled procedurally.
When someone picks up a new charge while already serving time the new sentence can be ordered to run concurrently with the existing sentence or consecutively to it. Concurrent means both sentences run at the same time, so if he has four months left on the original ten-year sentence and gets one year on the...
Read moreSubject: Sentence reduction
The rules in state prison are 85% of the sentence must be served, unless there is a parole provision in the Judgement and Commitment papers. There is a 15% good time reduction that is granted at the beginning of the sentence - the inmate can only lose that over time, not get more good time.
Subject: Sentence reduction
All sentences (except for "life") come with "good time credits". Usually this is 15% of the length of the sentence. You can only lose these good time credits for breaking the rules while incarcerated.
There is a parole system for most state prisons but the only inmates eligible must have it designated on the Judgement and Commitment document. Federal prison does not have parole but they do have RDAP. RDAP is the Residential Drug Abuse Program. Inmates that are eligible take...
Read moreSubject: Sentence reduction
No. There is no law signed in Arizona that reduces the sentence threshold from 85 percent to 65 percent. This is a prison rumor and versions of it circulate through correctional facilities across the country on a regular basis. The details change depending on the state and the facility but the pattern is consistent. Someone hears something, it gets passed along, the details shift with each retelling, and within weeks, it sounds like fact to people who have no way...
Read moreSubject: Sentence reduction
Signing for your time does not mean the number is locked in forever. There are legitimate paths to reduction even after a plea has been entered and a sentence imposed, though the options vary depending on whether your loved one is in the federal or state system.
In the federal system, the most accessible program is RDAP, the Residential Drug Abuse Program. If an inmate has a documented history of substance abuse and qualifies for the program, successful completion can take...
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