January 06, 2011

Update on Merit Time Bill S00329

Update on Merit Time Bill S00329, sponsored by Senator Velmanette Montgomery:

01/05/2011: Referred to Crime Victims, Crime and Correction.

Bill S00329 Summary:
Allows certain inmates to be granted a merit time allowance; allows inmates who are victims are able to prove that they were subjected to substantial physical, sexual or psychological abuse, that the abuse was inflicted by a member of their same family or household or a member of the person's immediate family, and that the abuse was a substantial factor in causing them to commit the crime to be eligible to earn merit time in the amount of one-third off either their minimum sentence (if inmate has an indeterminate sentence) or their flat sentence; allows such inmates to be eligible for presumptive release; expands the criteria that a person in custody of the department of correctional services may meet in order to earn merit time.

Bill status, summary and full text may be found here.