Last Updated on: 3rd March 2015, 03:36 pm
Truth in Sentencing Act comes into effect
I don’t agree with much our current government does, but this I like.
It had been common practice among judges to reduce prison sentences by two days for each day a person spent in jail while awaiting trial and sentencing. In rare cases, the ratio was three-to-one if their detention conditions were deemed particularly difficult.
The new legislation means that as a general rule, the amount of credit for time served will be capped at a ratio of one-to-one.
It will permit judges to give credit at a maximum ratio of 1.5-to-one only when circumstances justify it, and they will be required to explain what those circumstances are.
No change in the one-to-one ratio will be allowed under any circumstances for people who have violated bail conditions or who have been denied bail because of their criminal record.
I’ve written before about how maddening it is to continually hear about cases where someone is sentenced to 3 years in jail and then walks out the door because of the buy one, get one free type of credit available through our justice system. I have no problem with shortening somebody’s sentence to account for the time they sit in jail before and during their court cases, that’s only fair. I just wish that the system would be honest about it. If you say you’re putting somebody away for 3 years, they’d better be gone for 3 years. This symbolic sentencing doesn’t mean shit to anybody with a brain, all it is is a slap in the face to victims who have already suffered enough. Hopefully this new legislation will be a big step towards making things right.