Prawo i regulacje · 6.02.1996

Parole Date Advancements for Substance Abuse Treatment Program Completion

The U.S. Parole Commission is substantially revising the interim rule, published in August of last year, that added to 28 CFR 2.60 a provision whereby a parole-eligible prisoner could qualify for a special advancement of his release date by up to twelve months, if the prisoner completed a residential substance abuse treatment program and was a non-violent offender. The rule was published as an interim rule so as to permit the Commission to determine whether the statutory criteria for parole at 18 U.S.C. 4206 would permit these prisoners to receive an incentive for completion of such programs comparable to the incentive that is available under 18 U.S.C. 3621(e)(2) for prisoners serving sentences for crimes committed after November 1, 1987. (Such prisoners are not eligible for parole, but can qualify for up to twelve months of reduction in custody for completion of residential substance abuse programs). In practice, the Commission has not been able to grant advancements sufficient for the interim rule to provide the desired incentive, because parole-eligible prisoners all too frequently have serious offenses and serious prior records that preclude early release from prison. According