Senate Bill No. 178
(By Senators Love, Sharpe, White, Yoder, Hunter and Foster)
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[Introduced February 14, 2005; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §28-5-27 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to
good time for inmates of
correctional institutions; providing that good time may be
credited presumptively at the beginning of an inmate?s
sentence and that all of an inmate?s good time is subject to
forfeiture and revocation for violation of disciplinary rules;
and providing credit of good time for certain youthful
offenders.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §28-5-27 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. THE PENITENTIARY.
§28-5-27. Deduction from sentence for good conduct.
(a) All adult inmates now in the custody of the Commissioner
of Corrections, or hereafter committed to the custody of the commissioner of corrections except those committed pursuant to
article four, chapter twenty-five of this code, shall be granted
commutation from their sentences for good conduct in accordance
with this section.
(b) Such The commutation of sentence, hereinafter called
referred to in this section as "good time", shall be deducted from
the maximum term of indeterminate sentences or from the fixed term
of determinate sentences.
(c) Each inmate committed to the custody of the Commissioner
of Corrections and incarcerated in a penal facility pursuant to
such commitment shall be granted one day good time for each day he
or she is incarcerated, including any and all days in jail awaiting
sentence and which is credited by the sentencing court to his or
her sentence pursuant to section twenty-four, article eleven,
chapter sixty-one of this code or for any other reason relating to
such the commitment. The maximum amount of good time an inmate may
earn is one half of the maximum term of the indeterminate or
determinate sentence. All of the good time to which an inmate may
become entitled may be credited presumptively at the commencement
of an inmate?s sentence.
No inmate may be granted any good time
for time served either on parole or bond or in any other status
where by he or she is not physically incarcerated.
(d) No inmate sentenced to serve a life sentence shall be is
eligible to earn or receive any good time pursuant to this section.
(e) An inmate under two or more consecutive sentences shall be
is allowed good time as if the several sentences, when the maximum
terms thereof of the sentences are added together, were all one
sentence.
(f) The Commissioner of Corrections shall promulgate adopt
separate disciplinary rules for each institution under his or her
control in which adult felons are incarcerated. which The rules
shall describe acts which inmates are prohibited from committing,
procedures for charging individual inmates for violation of such
the rules and for determining the guilt or innocence of inmates
charged with such violations and the sanctions which may be imposed
for such the violations. A copy of such the rules shall be given
to each inmate. For each such violations violation by an inmate so
sanctioned, any part or all of the good time which has been granted
or
presumptively
credited to such the inmate pursuant to this
section may be forfeited and revoked by the warden or
superintendent of the institution in which the violation occurred.
The warden or superintendent, when appropriate and with approval of
the Commissioner, may restore any good time so forfeited.
(g) Each inmate, upon his or her commitment to and being
received into the custody of the Commissioner of the department
Division of Corrections or upon his or her return to custody as the
result of violation of parole pursuant to section nineteen, article
twelve, chapter sixty-two of this code, shall be given a statement setting forth the term or length of his or her sentence or
sentences and the time of his minimum discharge computed according
to this section.
(h) Each inmate shall be given a revision of the statement
described in subsection (g) of this section if and when any part or
all of the good time has been forfeited and revoked or restored
pursuant to subsection (f) whereby
of this section when
the time of
his or her earliest discharge is changed.
(i) The Commissioner of Corrections may, with the approval of
the Governor, allow extra good time for inmates who perform
exceptional work or service.
(j) In order to ensure equitable good time for all inmates now
in the custody of the commissioner of corrections or hereafter
committed to the custody of such commissioner, except as to those
persons committed pursuant to article four, chapter twenty-five of
this code, all good times shall be computed according to this
section and all previous computations of good time under prior
statutes or regulations are hereby voided. All inmates who have
previously forfeited good time are hereby restored to good time
computed according to this section and all inmates will receive a
new discharge date computed according to this section. All inmates
that have been awarded overtime good time or extra good time
pursuant to sections twenty-seven-a and twenty-seven-b of this
article which are repealed simultaneously with the amendment to this section during the regular session of the Legislature in the
year one thousand nine hundred eighty-four, shall receive such good
time in addition to the good time computed according to this
section.
Youthful offenders committed to the Anthony Correctional
Center pursuant to article four, chapter twenty-five of this code
may not receive good time unless the offender is returned to his or
her sentencing court as unfit to remain in the center and
subsequently sentenced to a term of incarceration. In the event a
youthful offender is found unfit and sentenced to a term of
imprisonment, he or she shall receive good time relative to any
credit for time served which is awarded by the sentencing court.
(k) There shall may be no grants or accumulations of good time
or credit to any inmate now or hereafter serving a sentence in the
custody of the department Division of Corrections except in the
manner provided in this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to
allow the Division of
Corrections
to presumptively
credit all
"good time" that an inmate
may earn while in the Division's custody to the inmate at the
beginning of an inmate?s sentence. It also provides that all of an
inmate?s good time is subject to forfeiture and revocation for
violation of disciplinary rules.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
This bill was recommended for introduction and passage during
the 2005 legislative session by the Legislative Oversight Committee
on the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority.