Making Communities SaferPopulation Management/Control Strategies

ASCA All Directors TrainingSession 2

December 3, 2010

CHRISTOPHER B. EPPSCOMMISSIONERMISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

AGENDA

• Changes in Mississippi Parole and Earned Time Laws

• Number of Inmates Eligible for ParoleCost Avoidance

• Number of Inmates Eligible for Medical ReleaseCost Avoidance

• Number of Inmates Eligible for Intensive Supervision Program (House Arrest)Cost Avoidance

• Questions and Comments• Closing Remarks

We needed to figure out….

•Who we were mad at…

AND

•Who we were afraid of.

Mississippi has plenty of people locked up.  We have 2.9 million citizens in Mississippi with about 21,000 of these citizens locked up behind bars.  By

comparison, the state of Arkansas has 2.8 million citizens with 16,400 behind bars. We had to figure something out…..

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Mississippi’s Truth In Sentencing Law• Five jurisdictions - the District of Columbia, Mississippi, New York,

Tennessee, and Wisconsin - made larger changes to their truth-in-sentencing (TIS) structure than was required for federal dollars.

• The crimes initially required under the TIS guidelines were: Murder, Negligent Manslaughter, Rape, Other Sexual Assault, Robbery and Assault.

• In addition to increasing the percentage of sentence served requirements, some states also altered their release by eliminating parole for violent offenders.

• In Mississippi prior to 1995, most offenders were eligible for parole after they completed 25 percent of their sentences.

• The new law, passed in 1995, abolished parole and the percent of sentence to be served was increased to 85 percent.

• Sentencing for sex offenses was made mandatory in 1994.

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Current Fiscal Strategy and Environment

A little background information…

June 30, 1995•Abolished parole eligibility for all offenders who committed crimes on or after July 1, 1995. (Previously most offenders were eligible for parole after serving 25% of their sentence).•Reduced the earned time allowance from 50% to 15% and established Earned Release Supervision. (Previously most offenders discharged their sentence after serving 50%. After this amendment, most offenders had to spend 85% of their sentence incarcerated and then serve the last 15% on ERS).April 15, 1999•Established the 10/30 Trusty Earned Time Allowance.July 1, 2001•Reinstated parole eligibility retroactive to January 1, 2000 for first time non-violent offenders.April 28, 2004•Increased the trusty earned time allowance to 30 days for every month served. Excluded most drug crimes except simple possession and precursor offenses from trusty eligibility.April 7, 2008•Amended parole law to make all offenders who had never been convicted of a violent crime or a crime with an enhanced penalty parole eligible regardless of the number of prior convictions. Also made sale or manufacture of a controlled substance parole eligible unless the crime had an enhanced penalty or involved over one kilogram of marijuana.March 9, 2009•Removed the 180 day cap off of meritorious earned time.April 7, 2009•Made those convicted of sale and manufacture of a controlled substance eligible for house arrest. (Previously the only drug crimes eligible for house arrest were simple possession and precursor offenses).

Changes in Mississippi Parole and Earned Time Laws since 1995

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MISSISSIPPI TRUSTY EARNED TIMEApril 28, 2004

§47-5-138.1. (1) In addition to any other administrative reduction of sentence, an offender in trusty status as defined by the classification board of the Department of Corrections may be awarded a trusty time allowance of thirty (30) days' reduction of sentence for each thirty (30) days of participation during any calendar month in an approved program while in trusty status, including satisfactory participation in education or instructional programs, satisfactory participation in work projects and satisfactory participation in any special incentive program.

Prior to April 28, 2004 the trusty earned time allowance was ten (10) days reduction of sentence for each thirty (30) days of participation in an approved program while in trusty status. Pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-138.1, from and after April 28, 2004, a trusty earned time allowance of thirty (30) days reduction of sentence may be granted for each thirty (30) days of participation in an approved program while in trusty status. Most drug crimes except simple possession and precursor offenses were excluded from trusty eligibility.

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SNAPSHOT

Mississippi Trusty Earned Time§47-5-138.1

Number of offenders released from April 28, 2004 to October 31, 2010 who were receiving Trusty Time:24,408

Of that number, 8,568 have returned to inmate status:5,886 Technical Violation2,682 New Sentence35.1% Percent Returned

Fiscal ImpactMDOC has realized an annual cost avoidance of $20,607,988 due in large part to the passage of the 30 for 30 trusty earned time law.

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MISSISSIPPI PAROLE LAWApril 7, 2008

§47-7-3. AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 47-7-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT NONVIOLENT OFFENDERS CONVICTED AFTER JUNE 30, 1995, MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE; TO PROVIDE THAT OFFENDERS CONVICTED FOR THE SALE OF A CERTAIN QUANTITY OF DRUGS UNDER THE UNIFORM CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES LAW MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE; TO PROVIDE THAT AN HONORABLE DISCHARGE FROM THE ARMED SERVICES SHALL BE A FACTOR CONSIDERED IN PAROLE ELIGIBILITY.

New parole law extended parole eligibility to all non-violent offenders irrespective of his/her first time offender status and extended parole eligibility to certain drug sale offenders.

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SNAPSHOT

Mississippi Parole Law§47-7-3

Number of Offenders Released to Parole as a result of the law modification on April 7, 2008: 9,098

Number of Returns: 813 Technical368 New Sentence

Percent Returned: 12.9%

Fiscal ImpactThe average annual cost avoidance of the parole law for 2008 – 2010 is $8,296,798.

Based on the MDOC population projections, our prison system was slated to grow approximately 5,000 inmates over the course of one decade.

That’s a cost avoidance of $400 million.

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Population Projection

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MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL RELEASE July 1, 2004

§ 47-7-4. The commissioner and the medical director of the department may place an offender who has served not less than one (1) year of his or her sentence, except an offender convicted of a sex crime, on conditional medical release. However, a nonviolent offender who is terminally ill may be placed on conditional medical release regardless of the time served on his or her sentence. Upon the release of a nonviolent offender who is terminally ill, the state shall not be responsible or liable for any medical costs that may be incurred if such costs are acquired after the offender is no longer incarcerated due to his or her placement on conditional medical release. The commissioner shall not place an offender on conditional medical release unless the medical director of the department certifies to the commissioner that (a) the offender is suffering from a significant permanent physical medical condition with no possibility of recovery; (b) that his or her further incarceration will serve no rehabilitative purposes; and (c) that the state would incur unreasonable expenses as a result of his or her continued incarceration. Any offender placed on conditional medical release shall be supervised by the Division of Community Corrections of the department for the remainder of his or her sentence. An offender's conditional medical release may be revoked and the offender returned and placed in actual custody of the department if the offender violates an order or condition of his or her conditional medical release.

MDOC has 91 offenders who have been approved for conditional medical release (CMR). Eighty-four (84) offenders have been released on CMR. Fifty-six (56) of the released offenders have been released since May 2008.

Fiscal ImpactMedical cost avoidance is $3,800,000Incarceration cost avoidance is $1,218,808Total Cost Avoidance = $5,018,808

MISSISSIPPI INTENSIVE SUPERVISION LAW (HOUSE ARREST)April 7, 2009

§47-5-1003. AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 47-5-1003, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REMOVE THE ONE-YEAR LIMITATION ON PLACEMENT IN THE INTENSIVE SUPERVISION PROGRAM; TO REMOVE THE RESTRICTION AGAINST PLACING OFFENDERS CONVICTED OF CERTAIN DRUG OFFENSES IN THE PROGRAM.

The intensive supervision program may be used as an alternative to incarceration for certain offenders who are low risk and nonviolent as selected by the department or court. The court or the department may place the eligible offender on intensive supervision.

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SNAPSHOT

Mississippi Intensive Supervision Law (House Arrest) §47-5-1003

Number of Offenders Released to House Arrest as a result of thelaw modification on April 7, 2009: 729

Number of Returns: 69 Technical7 New

Percent Returned: 10.4%

Fiscal ImpactCost avoidance through 2011: $1,223,700

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Cost Avoidance Summary

Trusty Earned Time $20,607,988

Mississippi Parole Law$8,296,798

Population Projections$400,000,000

Mississippi Medical Release $5,018,808

Mississippi Intensive Supervision Program $1,223,700

TOTAL COST AVOIDANCE

$435,147,294

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The Realistic Fundamentals

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Questions and Comments

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Closing Remarks