Sentence Reduction Credits and Parole for DWI Inmates

Last April, I wrote a post touching on the sentence reduction credit rules applicable to DWI inmates. In short, DWI inmates fall under the same “good time” credit rules applicable to certain pre–Structured Sentencing inmates: one day of credit for every day served in custody without an infraction of inmate conduct rules. In other words, a well-behaved inmate can expect to have his or her sentence cut in half by good time credit. (Sound familiar? That’s the same credit rule that may or may not apply to certain life-sentenced inmates from the 1970s. We’ll soon find out if it does.) The good time credit rule is set out in Department of Correction administrative rules enacted pursuant G.S. 148-13(b), which authorizes the Secretary of Correction to issue regulations regarding sentence deductions for inmates serving prison or jail terms for impaired driving. The Secretary’s rules, available here, must be distributed to and followed by local jail administrators under G.S. 148-13(e). The rules do not, however, apply to inmates serving split sentences for DWI; G.S. 148-13(f) exempts special probation terms from the rules’ coverage. Additionally, G.S. 20-179(p)(2) places a limit on the extent to which punishment may be ameliorated: good time credit may not reduce a DWI inmate’s sentence below the mandatory minimum period of imprisonment required for impaired driving. For example, a person sentenced to a 50 days active for a Level One DWI could receive only 20 days of good time credit, not the 25 days that would cut the sentence in [...]