Notice to new members intending to register - from January 9th 2012

lyndsaymjames · #1 05-25-2012, 12:05 AM

hi im new here! my hubby is currently at south fork serving his time. anyways when this all started back in june 2011 my hubby got sentenced to 32 months in prison. the judge while we were at his sentencing said that ryan was able to receive his good time and that he (the judge) couldnt take it away from him..that it would only be taken away from him if he did something stupid while in prison. Well when ryan received all his paperwork the judge checked some box saying that he was not allowed good time and that he has to serve his full sentence..so my question is..can he do that? is there anything that i can do to help him get it? my cousin told me tonight (shes studying criminal justice) that once ryan has served 80% of his time that he can request a parole hearing and go to this hearing and try to get them to allow him out early or something like that...is this true? sorry for all the questions..im just confused and also want my hubby home! He got sent away when i was 20 weeks pregnant and our little girl is now 5 months and id do anything i can to make his sentence shorter so he can be home with us!! please help!!! thank you

GingerM · #2 05-25-2012, 05:29 AM

Your lawyer is the person who would best be able to answer your question. That being said, the legal system falls under the judicial branch (judge's statement) while the DOC falls under the legislative branch of the government. In other words, DOC, once someone is handed over to them, is pretty much out of the control of the judge. But I'm not a lawyer and I don't know the exact circumstances of your case, so I don't know what could or couldn't be done. I would definitely contact the lawyer and ask for clarification of what's going on.

I believe your cousin is correct as long as your husband didn't plea (which it doesn't sound like he did). I think it varies from crime to crime, with Measure 11 crimes having a completely different set of rules. I've heard the 80% rule discussed before, but again, checking with your lawyer would always be the best bet.

I wish I could give you more solid information, but I simply don't know it. I hope you can find out, and if you do, please come back and tell us what you found out. It's good for all of us to have information.

lyndsaymjames · #3 05-25-2012, 09:38 AM

Thank you! I will try contacting his lawyer although he's not very good about getting back to people :-)

Zelda50 · #4 05-25-2012, 10:39 PM

If what is in the Judgment Order differs from what the judge said in Court, then you need to contact his original attorney and ask him to get a transcript of the sentencing hearing and look at it. If the judge said in Court that he should get his good time, the lawyer can file a motion to have the judge amend the judgment order. That's the only scenario where the judge can change the sentence once someone is booked into DOC custody (outside of winning an appeal or post-convicton and going back to re-sentencing).

When that motion is filed, it's up to the Judge if he wants to correct the Order. If he doesn't, the written Judgment supercedes the judge's verbal order in Court. But usually judges will make that correction if they said something different in Court.

Scott · #5 05-26-2012, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lyndsaymjames

... is there anything that i can do to help him get it? my cousin told me tonight (shes studying criminal justice) that once ryan has served 80% of his time that he can request a parole hearing and go to this hearing and try to get them to allow him out early or something like that...is this true?

Zelda50 already covered the bases about checking with the difference between the trial transcript and the Final Judgement, which the Department of Corrections uses to calculate time.

It is NOT true that after 80% of his sentence he can request a parole hearing. Oregon is a "Determinate Sentencing" state, which means that all sentences (past a certain date in 1989) are fixed by the court and the amount of good time is determined by a combination of the sentencing order and his behavior whilst in prison.

There really is no such thing (for the vast majority of people) as "Parole" in Oregon - it's called "Post Prison Supervision", and both its inception date and duration are determined by the sentencing order.

lyndsaymjames · #6 05-26-2012, 12:57 PM

Awesome thank you both very much!!!

Zelda50 · #7 05-27-2012, 01:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott

It is NOT true that after 80% of his sentence he can request a parole hearing. Oregon is a "Determinate Sentencing" state, which means that all sentences (past a certain date in 1989) are fixed by the court and the amount of good time is determined by a combination of the sentencing order and his behavior whilst in prison.

November 1, 1989.

GingerM · #8 05-27-2012, 06:38 AM

Quote:

It is NOT true that after 80% of his sentence he can request a parole hearing.

I misread the original question. I thought she was asking if, with enough good time, he could be released at the 80% mark of his sentence.

Actually, I'd be curious about that as well. If you're not M11, how much, in theory, could good time cut off one's sentence? I know there's a magic percentage number, I just don't know what it is (and I don't need to be spreading misinformation, heavens knows there's enough of that out there as is).

Zelda50 · #9 05-30-2012, 05:21 PM

Maximum earned good time is either 20% or 30% off the sentence, depending on when sentenced. The dates are complicated.

afdehut2011 · #10 06-22-2012, 07:36 AM

Not sure if this is the right area to ask or not but here goes anyways. My fiance is currently vacationing at Warner Creek, He is due to be eligible for release 09-22-14. He is already trying to get the information and start the process for him to return home to us here in arizona, this is where my questions come in.

What are the factors that they use in determining his eligibility to do his PPS in arizona and not Oregon?

Is there anything that I or other family members can do to assist in this process?

We are hoping to be married on the 22 of October, and I am still currently residing down here and it is really hard being over 1000 miles away from him.
Thank you for your guidance in advance.

Scott · #11 06-22-2012, 11:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by afdehut2011

Not sure if this is the right area to ask or not but here goes anyways. My fiance is currently vacationing at Warner Creek, He is due to be eligible for release 09-22-14. He is already trying to get the information and start the process for him to return home to us here in arizona, this is where my questions come in.

What are the factors that they use in determining his eligibility to do his PPS in arizona and not Oregon?

Is there anything that I or other family members can do to assist in this process?

We are hoping to be married on the 22 of October, and I am still currently residing down here and it is really hard being over 1000 miles away from him.

At this point, until he is within six months of release, there is really nothing you can do. At that time, there is a uniform Interstate Compact Agreement which needs to be completed and he will need to work with his release counselor (assigned approximately six months prior to release).

There are links to the form elsewhere on PTO, but if you can't find one, let me know and I'll repost it.

What you can do is make sure that there is a stable, reliable environment in Arizona. He will only be able to parole there with "immediate family" although there is some question as to whether a new marriage, completed while he was an inmate, will really qualify. There have been some bad experiences with those situations before and the Interstate Compact Review Board is a little skittish about those situations.

You should just know that full story. It could weigh either way - and they will factor in his past history.

Anyway... let us know what further questions you might have.

Zelda50 · #12 06-23-2012, 12:59 PM

The Interstate Compact Act under which supervision is transferred to another state was amended a year or so ago and it has become a bit more difficult to get permission to do that. What will be needed for him to go there is a place to live and proof that he has a means of financial support (not just for a month) when he gets there. That means a job lined up or a family member willing to state they will support him long-term. In addition, the parole office on your end has to accept him. If transferred there, he will have to sign a waiver of extradition which states that, if he violates post-prison supervision and has to be returned to Oregon, he has waived extradition proceedings and, I think, will be billed for the cost of transport. Once he has applied to transfer supervision under ICPC, one thing you could do would be to contact your local parole office and talk with someone there about the positives of him being transferred there and invite them to inspect your home (or wherever he'll be living) and give them a detailed release plan for him. That might move things along faster.

afdehut2011 · #13 06-26-2012, 02:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott

At this point, until he is within six months of release, there is really nothing you can do. At that time, there is a uniform Interstate Compact Agreement which needs to be completed and he will need to work with his release counselor (assigned approximately six months prior to release).

There are links to the form elsewhere on PTO, but if you can't find one, let me know and I'll repost it.

What you can do is make sure that there is a stable, reliable environment in Arizona. He will only be able to parole there with "immediate family" although there is some question as to whether a new marriage, completed while he was an inmate, will really qualify. There have been some bad experiences with those situations before and the Interstate Compact Review Board is a little skittish about those situations.

You should just know that full story. It could weigh either way - and they will factor in his past history.

Anyway... let us know what further questions you might have.

I can fully understand that they might look down on it being a new marriage, however while he was down here and we were trying to get him established as a resident of the state, he only had positive interactions with the law enforcement.One officer is just patching his roof until he is able to come home and do the job for him. Down here he is away from all of the environment that he was constantly around up there in Oregon. We were planning our wedding last year but the funding was not right, but we have both discussed it and if we don't succeed while he is there, than we will do it the day he is released with the entire family being there. My father and several other volunteer and active officers are willing to vouch for him in our small community.

Scott · #14 06-27-2012, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by afdehut2011

I can fully understand that they might look down on it being a new marriage, however while he was down here and we were trying to get him established as a resident of the state, he only had positive interactions with the law enforcement.One officer is just patching his roof until he is able to come home and do the job for him. Down here he is away from all of the environment that he was constantly around up there in Oregon. We were planning our wedding last year but the funding was not right, but we have both discussed it and if we don't succeed while he is there, than we will do it the day he is released with the entire family being there. My father and several other volunteer and active officers are willing to vouch for him in our small community.

All that is great - the question that will be evaluated isn't whether it's a new marriage - but whether you knew each other well PRIOR to his incarceration. There are countless situations where inmates married people while incarcerated with a specific agenda of getting a place to parole to away from something they were uncomfortable with.

I am not saying this is your situation - but it happens so frequently that the Interstate Compact folks are pretty tuned to it.

Community Support is important, very important - so all of that is helpful. But ultimately, the case has to be made that he can make it no matter what. "geographical cures" (as they're known in AA/NA) are almost never effective, because what happens to us isn't so much about our environment, as it is about who we are. There's an old Zen saying that "Wherever we go, we take ourselves with us..." Real transformation always has to take that into account.