NCJ Number
89272
Date Published
1982
Length
66 pages
Annotation
This analysis of earned good time in New York State's prisons suggests authorizing good time off the minimum sentence and revising criteria governing release decisions so that only institutional records are considered.
Abstract
The report suggests a ceiling be set at 10 years to guard against an inmate serving more than 10 years without being considered for parole. Furthermore, it recommends good time eligibility for all inmates, a provision against reducing sentences to less than a year, and retroactive good time. Data sources for the analysis included extensive research and surveys of inmates and prison staff in New York. The report examines the rationales underlying the 1967 law eliminating good time off the minimum sentence. It explores four problems in the post-1967 system of good time: the ineligibility of lifers to earn good time, its possible retraction after award, its relation to parole in a system where the minimum term is no longer a reliable release date, and the value of retaining a reward system benefiting only about one-quarter of inmates. An outline of a model good time system covers parole release decision, eligibility, losing good time, and calculating good time after parole revocation. The appendixes contain statistics on New York State prisons' conditional releases, 1967-81; admissions; and minimum sentences before and after the 1967 law. A history of good time in New York, a chart comparing sentencing structures before, during, and after 1967, and a study of good time allowance committee decisionmaking in New York are also presented.