Prison Sentence Reductions: RI Most Generous State in NE
Friday, March 18, 2011
Rhode Island offers prisoners more credits for sentence reductions than any other New England state, according to data obtained by GoLocalProv.
The Ocean State allows inmates to earn up to 17 days a month that are taken off of their sentences. But that monthly cap does not include an additional 30 days inmates can earn if they take classes on everything from anger management to U.S history and astronomy. And the state statute on good time does not cap how many total course credits inmates can rack up.
“When you add the classes—which you have to—it blows it out of the water,” said Richard Ferruccio, the former longtime president of the Rhode Island Brotherhood of Correctional Officers.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTArlene Violet: ‘We’re way out of kilter’
The next closest state is Vermont, with just 15 days a month max, according to a 2009 study by the Connecticut Department of Correction. Maine permits up to nine days a month and Massachusetts has 7.5 days. Connecticut and New Hampshire do not allow prisoners to earn time off their sentences—although the Constitution State is considering it.
“In terms of New England, we’re way out of kilter,” said former Attorney General Arlene Violet.
Credits for reduced sentences flared up into a major public controversy this month after it was reported that child killer Michael Woodmansee (pictured right) had enough credits to leave prison 12 years early.
Rhode Island boosted credits in 2008
The General Assembly passed a law in 2008 that bumped up the credits inmates in Rhode Island earn. Now, they can receive 17 days a month, which breaks down into: 10 days a month for good behavior, two days a month for working in the prison, and five days a month for taking a course. On top of those 17 days a month, prisoners get an additional 30 days off each time they finish a course.
The 2008 reform, however, did not affect Woodmansee. Instead, the law limits sex offenders to a maximum of 15 days in most cases. It also excludes them from the 30-credit bonus other prisoners receive for completing a course.
Prison records obtained by GoLocalProv reveal that it has had a significant impact on the sentences of other offenders.
Angela Gerundio—who was sentenced to three years in prison in 2009 for killing a man in a head-on collision while she was under the influence—was able to chop off more than a year from her sentence thanks to credits for good behavior, work, and courses. In all, she served about 20 months in prison, receiving 483 days off her sentence—which averages out to 24.5 days earned per month. Gerundio, who entered the ACI in March 2009, was released in November of the following year.
Brandy Graff, another woman sentenced to ten years in prison for a fatal drunk driving accident, has trimmed three years off her sentence, thanks to 921 days of credits she earned—roughly a third of those days were due to credits she received for finishing classes. Graff is now due to be released in 2014—three years ahead of schedule.
Inmates racked up 119,147 days off sentences
Between November 2008 and November 2010, a total of 119,147 days off were granted to 9,172 inmates for completing 168 courses—a figure which counts inmates more than once if they took more than one class, according to corrections department data obtained by GoLocalProv.
The corrections department has not done a study comparing its program to others, according to spokeswoman Tracey Zeckhausen. But, she said that nationally, Rhode Island is in the middle of the pack. “Some states give less than Rhode Island, some states give more,” Zeckhausen said. (Click here to see a chart comparing programs in all states. Note that not all states allocate time per month.)
Former Attorney General candidate Erik Wallin says the program is nonetheless too generous. “It is one of the most generous in New England and it is one of the more generous in the country, especially when combined with our parole,” said Wallin, an attorney who is representing the family of Jason Foreman, the 5-year-old boy slain by Woodmansee.
Prisoners actually get a double benefit from good behavior, according to Wallin. Not only does it allow them to slash time off their sentence, but it is one of the conditions of parole. Plus, someone who could be released on parole on a certain date could get out even earlier based on any good time credits they have earned, Wallin said.
Why does RI give so many credits to offenders?
In an interview with GoLocalProv, the director of the Department of Corrections, A.T. Wall, said the 2008 reform of the good-time credits was aimed at reducing overcrowding in the state prison system—which reached an all-time high in 2007. As prisons flooded with inmates, costs were on the rise, putting a strain on the entire system. More than a decade earlier, the state prison system had been under a federal court order to reduce crowding and state officials were anxious to avoid another federal intervention, Wall said.
Wall said the 2008 reform aimed to cut down on the prison population—while ensuring that those released were ready to re-enter society, hence the emphasis on courses on anger management, substance abuse, and mental health. Wall said it is “better to have someone released … who has dealt with the reason for committing their crime than to release them untreated.”
Violet, however, disputed the assumption that good-time is a good way of dealing with overcrowding in prisons. “We don’t even have an official department of corrections because there should be halfway houses but the unions block that,” Violet said. “We ought to have a full continuum program which we presently don’t have. If you really have an effective system you don’t have to look to having days off in order to decrease overcrowding.”
“This is just putting your thumb in the dike by saying, ‘Oh, we got an overcrowding problem so let’s let everybody out early.’ … It’s absolutely ridiculous policy,” Violet added.
Three years after the reform, Wall maintains that the program has succeeded. “I believe that it has accomplished the purposes for which it was intended,” he said.
A public outcry and a push to change the law
But now, following the public outcry over the early release of Woodmansee, a movement is afoot to change the law. Amy Kempe, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Peter Kilmartin, said his staff is drafting a bill that would amend the good-time statute. And Wallin said he is working with several state reps and senators on legislation to change the law. He said he could not go into detail about those negotiations.
Wallin told GoLocalProv he believes that only non-violent offenders should be eligible to receive good time. Violet said prisoners should only get two to three days a month maximum.
Sex offenders in particular stand to benefit from the good-time credits, according to Wallin. “Sex offenders are typically the most well behaved and most courteous prisoners in the prison system,” Wallin said. “So they’re the most likely to earn this kind of good time.”
Michael Woodmansee photo credit: http://www.newjustice.net/
