Minnesota Democrats Push Bill to Only Require Prisoners to Serve Half Their Sentences

Minnesota Democrats have introduced legislation that would allow inmates to receive early release credits. This idea was referred to by Commissioner of Corrections Paul Schnell as “a” “game-changing proposition.”

Rep. Jamie Becker Finn (DFL-Roseville), the author Minnesota Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act (MRRA) aims to encourage rehabilitation programming participation by providing early release credits.

“If we look at recidivism rates, we know that the current system isn’t working,” Becker-Finn spoke during a House Public Safety Committee Meeting Last week, we called the bill a “big change” To the corrections system.

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Schnell, eine Walz Appointment The bill’s supporter explained the four components:

1. Individualized rehabilitation plans: Each prisoner would be provided with a customized rehabilitation plan. “robust assessment that is used to set concrete, personalized goals.”
2. Earned incentive release
3. Earned supervision abatement “further goals are met.”
4. Justice reinvestment Fund: The funds saved by the act would go towards victim services, supervision services, crime prevention programs, and other services.

“What this bill would do is really recognize that each individual person might need something different so that they can thrive when they come back to our communities,” Becker-Finn said.

Under the current system, two-thirds of a sentence is served in prison while the other third is served on supervised parole. Schnell stated that the MRRA could allow prisoners to be released as soon as they reach the 50% mark, provided the individualized rehabilitation plan has been followed.

The legislation directs that the commissioner develop a policy “earned incentive release” in consultation with community groups and local boards. It is stated in the bill that “the maximum amount of earned incentive release credit that can be earned and subtracted from the term of imprisonment is 17 percent of the term of imprisonment, but in no case shall the credit reduce the term of imprisonment to less than one-half of the incarcerated person’s executed sentence.”

This legislation would not apply to people serving life sentences.

“We are in the business of trying to transform lives and that is fundamentally focused on the safety of our state,” Schnell said. “Accountability without rehabilitation is a failed proposition.”

The House Ways and Means Committee was asked to hear the bill again.

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