Colorado § 17-26-109 - Deductions of time - record keeping - forfeitures - definition.

§ 17-26-109. Deductions of time - record keeping - forfeitures - definition.

(1) Every person who is sentenced to and imprisoned in any county jail of this state who performs faithfully the duties assigned to him or her and conducts himself or herself in accordance with the rules of the jail earns deductions from the time of his or her sentence as follows:

(a) An inmate receives a seven-day deduction for each thirty days on his or her sentence which shall be calculated on a pro-rated basis from the commencement of the sentence, all or part of which is subject to forfeiture if the inmate is found to have violated any of the rules and regulations of the jail or has not faithfully accepted or completed the duties assigned to him or her;

(b) In addition to the deduction described in subsection (1)(a) of this section, an inmate may receive a three-day deduction for each thirty days on his or her sentence if he or she:

(I) Successfully completes a designated program or educational activity within the jail or is designated by the county sheriff as a trusty prisoner;

(II) Is engaged in work within or outside the walls of the jail;

(III) Performs his or her work in a credible manner;

(IV) Conducts himself or herself in accordance with the rules of the jail; and

(V) Is approved by the sheriff to receive a deduction pursuant to this subsection (1)(b);

(c) (I) In addition to the deductions described in subsection (1)(a) of this section, an inmate may receive a three-day maximum deduction when the inmate takes an unusual or extraordinary action, as determined by the county sheriff. This deduction may be granted on an incident-by-incident basis and is not subject to the deduction cap described in subsection (1)(a) of this section.

(II) If a county sheriff awards a deduction pursuant to this subsection (1)(c), the county sheriff shall notify the chief judge of the judicial district where the defendant was convicted of the award not later than three business days after the deduction is awarded. When providing the notice, the sheriff shall indicate how many days were deducted and the nature of the unusual or extraordinary action taken by the inmate.

(d) and (e) Repealed.

(f) (I) In addition to the deductions described in subsections (1)(a), (1)(b), and (1)(c) of this section, an inmate may receive a three-day maximum deduction when the inmate takes an unusual or extraordinary action, as determined by the county sheriff. This deduction may be granted on an incident-by-incident basis.

(II) If a county sheriff awards a deduction pursuant to this subsection (1)(f), he or she shall notify the chief judge of the judicial district of such fact not later than three business days after the deduction is awarded. In providing such notice, the sheriff shall indicate how many days were deducted and the nature of the unusual or extraordinary action taken by the inmate.

(2) Each county jail shall keep a record of each inmate's deductions of time and changes in deductions of time as a result of policy violations by the inmate.

(3) (a) If an inmate is found to have committed a willful violation of any of the rules or regulations of the jail, the sheriff of the county in which the jail is situated shall determine whether the inmate shall forfeit some or all of the deductions from the inmate's sentence through implementation of a process as outlined in a policy provided to all inmates, which is applied consistently and complies with the best practices for correctional settings.

(b) If an inmate escapes or attempts to escape from a jail or an alternative sentence program, he or she forfeits all deductions from his or her sentence that he or she received up to the time of the escape or attempted escape.

(4) An inmate who is sentenced to any alternative sentence pursuant to section 18-1.3-106 arising out of a sentence pursuant to section 42-4-1307 (5)(a)(I), (5)(b), or (6)(a)(I) may receive a sentence deduction pursuant to this section only after serving any mandatory period of time pursuant to those sections.

(5) As used in this section, "day" means a twenty-four-hour calendar day.

Source: L. 77: Entire title R&RE, p. 937, § 10, effective August 1. L. 2009: Entire section amended, (HB 09-1263), ch. 105, p. 382, § 1, effective August 5. L. 2017: Entire section amended, (HB 17-1015), ch. 71, p. 221, § 1, effective August 9. L. 2021: IP(1), (1)(a), (1)(b), (1)(c), (2), and (3)(a) amended, (SB 21-271), ch. 462, p. 3164, § 176, effective March 1, 2022; (1)(e)(II) added by revision, (SB 21-271), ch. 462, pp. 3164, 3331, §§ 176, 803. L. 2022: (1)(b)(I) amended, (HB 22-1229), ch. 68, p. 343, § 15, effective March 1. L. 2023: (1)(f)(I) amended, (HB 23-1301), ch. 303, p. 1820, § 20, effective August 7.

Editor's note: (1) This section is similar to former § 27-26-109 as it existed prior to 1977.

(2) Subsection (1)(e)(II) provided for the repeal of subsections (1)(d) and (1)(e), effective March 1, 2022. (See L. 2021, pp. 3164, 3331.)

(3) Section 47 of chapter 68 (HB 22-1229), Session Laws of Colorado 2022, provides that the act changing this section applies to offenses committed on or after March 1, 2022.

(4) Section 47 of chapter 68 (HB 22-1229), Session Laws of Colorado 2022, provides that the act changing this section is effective March 1, 2022, but the governor did not approve the act until April 7, 2022.

Cross references: For credit for presentence confinement, see § 18-1.3-405.

ANNOTATION

Annotator's note. Since § 17-26-109 is identical to repealed § 27-26-109, a relevant case construing that provision has been included in the annotations to this section.

Only payment of the judgment entitles a person, sentenced to jail under a body execution, to a release before expiration of the time of confinement fixed by the court. Hershey v. People ex rel. Johnson, 91 Colo. 113, 12 P.2d 345 (1932).

Therefore, the provisions of this section are not applicable to one confined under a body execution. Hershey v. People ex rel. Johnson, 91 Colo. 113, 12 P.2d 345 (1932).

No credit for presentence confinement. There is nothing in this article mandating the deduction of the period of presentence confinement from a sentence to a county jail. Castro v. Dist. Court, 656 P.2d 1283 (Colo. 1982).

Persons serving jail time as a condition of probation are eligible for good time credit under the provisions of this section and § 17-26-115. One who is imprisoned in the county jail, whether as a result of a sentence to imprisonment or a sentence to probation with a condition of imprisonment, cannot be denied the benefits of the good time statutes. Faulkner v. Dist. Court, 826 P.2d 1277 (Colo. 1992) (decided prior to 2017 repeal of § 17-26-115).

Court cannot deny benefits of this section. It is not within the power of the sentencing court to impose a sentence which denies to one imprisoned in the county jail the benefits of this section: the effect of this section is to proscribe the imposition of a "flat" time sentence which denies a defendant his statutory right to a reduction from the time of his sentence for good behavior. Hemphill v. Dist. Court, 197 Colo. 431, 593 P.2d 972 (1979).