Alabama Attorney General Opinion 1979-0163

3E130 WILLIAM M. BEKURS. JR. EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT W S. TURNER CHIEF ASST ATTORNEY GENERAL ADMINI IRE BUILDING $4 NORTH UNION MONTGOMERY. AREA (205). 134-1110 APR 26 1975 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL .}laic 19- oo ) CO3 gkir5t LEE L. HALE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL CHARLES A. GRADDICK ATTORNEY GENERAL STATE OF ALABAMA JANIE NOBLES ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Sheriff Thomas H. Benton Post Office Box 270 Bay Minette, Alabama 36507 Prisons and Prisoners and Work Release Program Prisoners sentenced to a specified period of confine- ment under Code of Alabama 1975, §15-18-8 (1978 Cum. Supp.), are not entitled to deductions for good behavior from that period of confine- ment. Prisoners sentenced to confine- ment in a county jail for one year or less may be placed in a state-approved county work release program without approval -of the Board of Corrections. Dear Sheriff Benton: Your letter to this office requesting an advisory opinion refers to prisoners who have been sentenced to one year confinement in the county jail and to two or more years probation. For purposes of this opinion, it is assumed that such prisoners were sentenced under what is sometimes referred to as the Split-sentence Act, which is now contained in Code of Alabama 1975, §15-18-8 (1978 Cum. Supp.) Sheriff Thomas H. Benton Page Two The part of your letter posing the first question is as follows: QUERY: When an individual is sentenced to one year in the County Jail and probation for two or more years, is he a County Prisoner? It would be hazardous for this office to attempt to attach a label to prisoners sentenced under the Split-sentence Act without knowing the purpose for which they were being labeled. It might conceivably be that such prisoners were county pri- soners for one purpose but state prisoners for another purpose. We need more information before we can answer this inquiry. The part of your letter posing the second question is as follows: QUERY: When a person is sentenced to one year in'the County Jail and proba- tion for two years, can the Sheriff allow eight days good time for each month of the sentence in which he is confined? The answer is no. There is a difference between a sentence and a period of confinement. A prisoner's sentence minus good time deductions, etc., is his period of confinement. See 1,g., Code of Alabama 1975, §14-9-1, and Code of Alabama 19737-514=9-4 (1978 Cum. Supp.). Both of the good time statutes provide for deductions from a prisoner's sentence,not from a specified period of confinement. Under the Split-sentence Act, Code of Alabama 1975, §15-18-8(a) (1978 Cum. Supp.), a prisoner does not receive a sentence from which good time can be deducted to arrive at his actual period of confinement. Instead, under the express pro- visions of that Act, the judge specifies the actual period of confinement which the prisoner is to serve. Neither the sheriff nor any one else can reduce the period of confinement which the judge specifies. The good time acts simply do not apply to it. See Opinion to Honorable Larry D. Bennett, Commissioner. of Cor- rections, pp. 6-7, under date of March 27, 1979, a copy of which is enclosed. Sheriff Thomas H. Benton Page Three The part of your letter posing the third question is as follows: QUERY: When a person is sentenced to one year in the County -Jail and proba- tion for a period of 2 years, can the Sheriff place the person on a State approved County Work Release Program or must they be classified as a minimum security risk by the State Board of Corrections before they are eligible? The answer is that a prisoner sentenced to confinement for one year or less in the county jail can be placed by the sheriff in a state-approved county work release program, even though the prisoner is not classified as a minimum security risk by the State Board of Corrections. The system of state-approved county work release programs is authorized by Code of Alabama 1975, §14-8-30 through §14-8-44 (1978 Cum. Supp.). Section 14-6-33(b) provides that state inmates may participate in a county release program if approved by the Board of Corrections. Under §14-8-33(a) the participa- tion of county inmates in county work release programs is subject only to regulations and policies adopted by the county, and the approval of the Board of Corrections is not required before a particular county inmate can be placed. in the program. The issue is whether an inmate "sentenced to one year in the County Jail and probation for a period of 2 years" is a state inmate or a county inmate for purposes of this law. The answer is found in §14-8-30(1), which provides that a person convicted of a crime and sentenced "to a term of con- finement of one year's duration or less" is a county inmate. Therefore, regardless of the length of the probationary period, an inmate sentenced to one year or less of confine- ment in a county jail under the Split-sentence Act may be placed in a state-approved county work release program regard- less of whether he has been classified by the State Board of Corrections as a minimum security prisoner. Sheriff Thomas H. Benton Page Four I hope that this opinion answers your questions. Sincerely, CHARLES A. GRADDICK Attorney General By- ED CARNES Assistant Attorney General EC/dwut