The news is bad. He was sentenced to 3 years in state prison. Although his lawyer told him it could happen, it’s still a complete shock. That’s a tough pill to take. At least he’s comforted that if all goes well, he’ll only serve one year of his three-year sentence! When a person is sentenced to a state prison or a county jail, they receive a penalty credit that reduces the time they actually serve in pre-trial detention. The type of credit that applies to a particular case depends on when the person committed the crime, where that person will be serving their sentence, and what crime was committed. If you are sentenced to serve a term in county jail or so-called “1170(h) time,” which is a sentence in county jail, Section 4019 of the Criminal Code applies to determine what type of credits you receive. Section 4019 states that “a four-day sentence shall be deemed served for every two days spent in actual confinement”. Hence the term “part-time” as this section of the code typically reduces the actual length of pre-trial detention by 50%. Nothing bad! The downside of this law is that this part-time loan is a privilege. If a defendant appears to have “failed to satisfactorily comply with reasonable rules and regulations,” half-time credits may be deducted. The weird thing about part-time loans is the formula that sheriff’s departments use to calculate them. The formula is prison days divided by four. The rest is discarded. The product is multiplied by 2, which is your “conduct score”. He then subtracts his conduct credits from the actual sentence and gets the time he will actually serve in prison. The reason I use the term “weird” is because applying this formula has some weird results. For example, if you use this formula, you actually have to serve less jail time if you get sentenced to 8 days instead of 7. In fact, with this calculation, it is always better to have a penalty that is a multiple of 4. In either case, if you are sentenced to imprisonment, as in the case I started, a different law applies. If you are convicted of a “violent crime”. You must then serve at least 85% of your prison time under Section 2933.1 of the Criminal Code.
Violent crimes are any of the offenses listed in Section 667.5 of the Criminal Code. They are defined as rape, murder, and any crime punishable by life imprisonment or death, to name a few. However, all other cases fall under Sections 2931 and 2933 of the Criminal Code. Section 2931 gives the prison the ability to reduce your sentence by a third for “good behavior.” Granted “time work” credits during section 2931. That is, “For every six months of continuous incarceration, an inmate is granted credit reductions from his six-month incarceration.” Applying both laws effectively reduces your sentence by 2/3. If, as in the previous case, you were sentenced to three years, you will receive one at the end. Like all these types of credits, they are a privilege and can be lost. So for goodness sake be nice while you’re there. I’m not joking. If you have problems, give us a call and ask! I hope this helps ease the impact of your judgment or the judgment of your loved one. This is a general statement of fact and there are always exceptions or arguments from the “other side”. If you have specific questions about your case, send me a message.
Capital crimes
The highest criminal offense is a capital crime. These are only issued in some states and apply to the most serious crimes such as murder, rape, human trafficking and serious child abuse. Punishment for capital crimes has also led to the death penalty.
A slightly lighter sentence is a crime with life imprisonment. A life sentence means you will spend the rest of your natural life in prison and not get parole.
What are California-related crimes?
Many related charges could be filed in addition to or in place of Penal Code 187 manslaughter, including the following:
- Penal Code 187 PC: Watson Manslaughter under the influence of alcohol,
- Penal code 664/187 StGB – attempted murder,
- Penal code 16100 StGB – shooting from a moving vehicle,
- Penal code 246 StGB – shooting in an inhabited apartment or car,
- Penal Code 192(a) PC – voluntary homicide,
- Penal Code 653f PC – incitement to commit a crime.
Are there people who are detained after their release date?
Even if everyone agrees on a release date, it does not guarantee that it will be available for free on that day. It is not uncommon for people to remain incarcerated well beyond the date of their release.
A person may be detained after their release date for a number of reasons, but the two most common are: