H. B. 2121
(By Delegates Hunt, Amores, Greear, Tillis and Kelley)
[Introduced January 23, 1995; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-seven, article five,
chapter twenty-eight of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
deduction from sentence for good conduct.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-seven, article five, chapter
twenty-eight of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, 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 Any commutation of sentence based upon the good
behavior of an inmate during his or her confinement, hereinafter
called "good time," shall be deducted from the maximum term of
indeterminate sentences or from the fixed term of determinate
sentences.
(c) Except as specifically provided in this section and
notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, 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 that commitment. No inmate may be granted any good time
for time served either on parole or bond or in any other status
whereby he or she is not physically incarcerated.
(d) No Neither an inmate sentenced on the basis of a
conviction for a crime of violence to a person nor one 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 allowed good time as if the several sentences, when the
maximum terms thereof are added together, were all one sentence.
(f) The commissioner of corrections shall promulgate
separate disciplinary rules for each institution under his or her
control in which adult felons are incarcerated. which These
rules shall describe acts which inmates are prohibited from
committing, procedures for charging individual inmates for
violation of such rules rule violations, and procedures for
determining the guilt or innocence of inmates an inmate charged
with such violations a rule violation and the sanctions which
may be imposed for such violations therefor. A copy of such
these rules shall be given to each inmate. For each such violation of these rules, by an inmate so sanctioned, any part or
all of the good time which has been granted to such an 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
of corrections, or upon his 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 earliest 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 his or her good time has been forfeited and revoked
or restored pursuant to subsection (f) of this section whereby if
the time of his or her earliest discharge is changed as a result.
(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 eligible
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 who 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 be credited
with any amount of good time previously granted under those sections in addition to the good time computed according to this
section.
(k) There shall may be no grants or accumulations of good
time or credit to any inmate who is now or hereafter serving a
sentence in the custody of the department of corrections except
in the manner provided in this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to declare inmates who
have been committed for violent offenses ineligible for "good
time" deductions from their sentences.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.