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A new report says Vermont should adopt a system for awarding “earned good time” to inmates that would allow them to reduce their prison sentences, but the matter still needs more study.

The report comes as many lawmakers as well as Gov. Phil Scott have called for finding ways to alleviate the need for the state to send more than 200 of its prisoners out of state because of a lack of capacity in Vermont.

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During the last legislative session, lawmakers passed a measure calling for the formation of a committee to study the “advisability and feasibility of reinstituting a system of earned good time for persons under the supervision of the Department of Corrections.”

That report was posted on the Vermont Legislature’s website this week, and it is expected to be presented to the Joint Legislative Justice Oversight Committee at a Dec. 12 meeting at the Statehouse.

The eight-page report discusses the benefits and challenges of implementing a system of awarding “earned good time” to reduce prison sentences served by Vermont inmates. The state did away with awarding good time in 2005.

“It is advisable to reinstitute a program of earned good time for sentenced inmates and individuals on furlough,” the report stated.

However, later in the document, the committee advised that before moving forward more study is needed and asked for another year to continue the review.

One of the major roadblocks to establishing earned good time is ensuring equal access to programming at Vermont’s correctional facilities that would make prisoners eligible to earn time off a prison sentence.

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“The largest dependency is identifying opportunities for all offenders, regardless of location, to earn good time,” the report stated. “Limiting good time to only those who are eligible for programming would limit the impact of the program.”

The report defines earned good time as a “merit-based system designed to incentivize offenders to participate in activities that prepare them for reentry.”

That is different, the report stated, than “statutory good time,” which generally is based on an inmate’s behavior, such as not picking up any disciplinary reports over a period of time.

“We did a fair amount of research to see how other states around the country are utilizing good time,” Michael Touchette, Vermont’s deputy corrections commissioner and a member of the study committee, said Thursday.

He takes over next month as the head of the department following the retirement of Lisa Menard, the state’s current corrections commissioner.

“What we really wanted to try to get to was, how do we apply this in a way that is non-subjective, that can applied to all sentenced inmates, and where all those inmates have access to the services, programs, educational and vocational services in an equitable manner, added Touchette said of the study.

Among those joining Touchette on the committee were other corrections staff as well as lawyers from the state’s Prisoners’ Rights Office and Vermont’s attorney general’s office.

“What we found is that there are greater outcomes when good time is applied to a process where there are milestones,” Touchette said, “where there is engagement in something other than just being a good human being.”

But, he said, not all facilities provide the same access to programs.

“The availability of appropriate programming needs to be expanded to all correctional facilities if the program is to be accessed by all sentenced inmates,” the report stated.

The report also recommends that earned good time not be available to inmates who are detained prior to the resolution of their cases.

Vermont currently has 1,741 prisoners, including 386 who are being detained prior to trial with the rest serving some type of sentence.

According to corrections officials, about 45 states have some sort of system in place for awarding good time to prisoners, ranging from reductions of time off sentences of 15 percent to 50 percent.

The report stated that “empirical work shows that earned good time is effective at prison population management, has little to no effect on public safety/community impact, and correctional administrators perceive earned good time as having a positive impact on facility control.”

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Also, according to the report, earned good time cuts costs of housing inmates, though that varies depending on the number of days a sentence is reduced.

“Research on crime and recidivism is mixed,” the report added. While Illinois saw a reduction in crime of 1 percent, the recidivism rate declined by 3.5 percent in Washington, according to the report.

Vermont prisoners who currently participate in the department’s work camp program are eligible for “day for day” credit. For example, if a prisoner serves one day in work camp, that inmate gets credit for two days served.

That work camp program is only available for certain offenders not convicted of a “listed” offense, which are those considered the most serious crimes, such as sex assaults, robbery and convictions involving the death of another person.

About 60 people take part in the program at any given time, according to corrections officials.

“I was encouraged by the report,” Tom Dalton, executive director of Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform, said Thursday. “In terms of looking at ways to reduce unnecessary incarceration I think that this is one of the ideas that has been brought up as a way to address that.”

He added that the report was “pretty clear” in its support for implementing a system of earned good time, though details still needed to be worked out.

“If legislators agree,” Dalton said, “then they should consider providing DOC with a clear mandate to implement the program and provide the department with a clear and reasonable timeline to accomplish that task.”

He said would not support another year of study.

“It matters because it’s impacting a lot of people,” Dalton said of the need to move forward.

Chloé White, policy director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont, agreed with Dalton in pushing for lawmakers to work toward implementation rather than another year of study.

“We applaud the report’s recommendations,” White said in a statement Thursday, “and urge DOC and the Legislature to take steps now to reinstate good time, even as the study group continues to look into the issue.”

Rep. Alice Emmons, D-Springfield, chair of the Joint Legislative Justice Oversight Committee, said Thursday she has been traveling in recent days and hasn’t had time to fully review the report.

However, she said after after lawmakers did away with earned good time for prisoners in 2005, last session there was talk of whether to bring it, back prompting the study.

“People wanted truth in sentencing. One thing that we thought would address that is doing away with good time,” Emmons said of the decision in 2005 to abolish the good time system.

“Now, while we’re looking at managing the corrections population we’re looking to see if earned good time would be worth putting in place,” she said. “It’s a management tool for corrections and it also gives the inmates incentive to participate in something other than just sitting in their cells.”

Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington who is vice chair of the joint legislative committee, said Thursday he believed that earned good time for prisoners is something worth further pursuing this upcoming legislative session.

“I think it would help the corrections system immeasurably to deal with the longer sentences, particularly for nonviolent crimes,” he said. “There may be a way of dealing with it so people who are actually making progress and doing the right thing could work time off their sentences.”

He said one of the factors that led to the demise of the earned good time in Vermont in 2005 was that the system for calculating it, and determining who was eligible, became overly complicated.

“It was also just a mess,” he said. “People who were incarcerated didn’t even know when they would be getting out.”







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