Avoiding Post-Release Supervision

As I’ve noted in prior posts, some people just want to serve their time in prison. For one reason or another, they do not want to be on probation. For similar reasons, many defendants do not want to be on post-release supervision. Post-release supervision (PRS), you’ll recall, is a term of supervised release served at the conclusion of an active felony sentence. Before December 1, 2011, only Class B1–E felons received post-release supervision. For offenses committed on or after December 1, 2011, all felons get PRS. That being the case, a frequently asked question of late is how PRS might be avoided. The short answer (at least for an active sentence for a felony committed on or after December 1, 2011) is that it can’t be. The time for PRS is baked into the maximum sentences set out on the post–December 1, 2011 sentencing grids, and the court must sentence from the proper grid. State v. Roberts, 351 N.C. 325 (2000); State v. Lee, __ N.C. App. __, 745 S.E.2d 73 (2013). If the wrong grid is used, the Division of Adult Correction will likely flag the judgment as erroneous and return it to the sentencing court—which is what they are supposed to do. Hamilton v. Freeman, 147 N.C. App. 195 (2001). I have heard that this has been happening more often recently. Just as PRS cannot generally be avoided on the front end, it cannot be refused on the back end. The prison system is required by law to release [...]