Post-Release Supervisees Who Commit New Crimes

Post-release supervision used to be relatively rare. Before 2011, only Class B1–E felons received PRS, and they accounted for only about 15 percent of all felons. Now that Class F–I felons also get PRS, the number of people under supervision is surging. Some of them get into trouble. This post looks at some of the increasingly common questions that come up when a post-release supervisee is charged with and eventually convicted of a new crime. Every post-release supervisee is subject to a condition requiring that he or she “not commit another crime.” G.S. 15A-1368.4(b). A supervisee can be revoked for a violation of that condition. (For most other violations, the supervisee can be returned to prison for only three months. G.S. 15A-1368.3(c).) When a post-release supervisee is charged with a new crime, the Parole Commission will often issue an “order of temporary or conditional revocation of post-release supervision,” also known as a PRS warrant. G.S. 15A-1368.6(a). As discussed in this prior post summarizing the PRS violation hearing process, it is generally understood that there is no entitlement to bail pending a PRS hearing. So, even if the defendant would be able to make bond on the new charge, he or she will be stuck in jail by virtue of the PRS warrant. A person held on a PRS warrant is entitled to a preliminary hearing on the violation within seven working days of arrest, G.S. 15A-1368.6(b), and a hearing before the full commission within 45 days after that, G.S. 15A-1368.6(e). In reality, [...]