Early release of locally jailed prisoners is probably as old as the criminal justice system in the United States. The original concept underlying early release was simple: If you behaved well and followed the rules behind bars, you could earn credits for early release.
The theory was that these “good time-work time” credits encouraged prisoners’ good behavior while in custody, reduced incidents, and provided additional protection for correctional officers.
Early release has been the law in California for a very long time. It is codified in Penal Code Section 4019, which applies to most crimes. (It does not apply to violent crimes, which are governed by a different section of the Penal Code.) Last month, the application of Section 4019 was thrown into some confusion when a new state law, Senate Bill 18, went into effect. Since that time, there have been differing opinions statewide by county sheriffs, probation officials, courts, district attorneys, defense counsels, local county counsels and the attorney general’s office as to the effect of SB 18.
Up until Jan. 25, the application of “early release” for county jail inmates under Section 4019 was clear and governed by formula.
Here is how it worked: If an inmate had been sentenced to the county jail for, say, 150 days, he or she could accumulate “good time-work time” credits while in custody. After 100 actual days in custody, he or she may have accumulated 50 days of “good time-work time” credits for a total of 150 days.
As a result of the time actually spent in custody and the credits accumulated, this inmate would be considered to have served 150 days and would be released.
In addition, most counties, like Yolo County, allow people convicted of some crimes to participate in alternative programs – such as the sheriff’s work project – if they have 90 or fewer days of custody time.
So, inmates who have been sentenced to 90 days of jail time could do the alternative work program and serve no time in jail. Those who are serving time in jail (say, with a sentence of 150 days) are eligible for the alternative program when – after serving time in jail – their remaining jail time comes down to 90 days.
The formula for calculating credits changed with the passage of SB 18. Under the new statute, credits are awarded one day for every one day served in jail. In the example previously given, the defendant who has served 75 days in jail is now entitled to 75 days of “good time-work time” credits for a total of 150 days, and would be released early when he or she hits the 75-day mark of days actually served.
The dilemma is that the new state law did not explicitly state whether the changes to Section 4019 were to be applied retroactively or prospectively only. Many counties interpreted it one way, and many interpreted it the other. Ultimately, an appellate court will straighten all this out, or the Legislature will amend the statute to clarify the point.
The change to Section 4019 seems to have caught almost everyone in the criminal justice system flat-footed. Defense lawyers, prosecutors, probation officers, county counsels, sheriffs and judges were not aware of it, partly because it was buried in a mound of legislation. Frankly, I suspect that many members of the Legislature who voted for the change may not have been aware of it.
Apparently, state leaders enacted the new law with the intent of reducing overcrowding in prisons and jails. A number of officials and citizens have since expressed concerns for public safety by early release of prisoners.
While these concerns are real and legitimate, one should not forget that early release is the law in California and has been for generations. SB 18 only changed the formula for calculating “good time-work time” credits – it did not create early release all by itself.
Eventually, all prisoners (except those incarcerated for a life term) are released from custody. Even if “good time-work time” credits were completely eliminated, prisoners would be released at some point in time into the community.
For the criminal justice system, an overriding issue is how to equip these inmates with sufficient skills, training, knowledge and supervision to function and be productive once back in society.