老澳门开奖结果

A habeas corpus petition filed today by 老澳门开奖结果 of Rhode Island cooperating attorneys and the Public Defender argues that an inmate is unlawfully being held in prison despite a decision by the R.I. Parole Board to release him on supervised parole. This is the second time in two years the 老澳门开奖结果 has had to go to court to address this ongoing and disturbing problem created by a controversial and, according to the petition, unlawful policy change by the R.I. Department of Corrections (DOC).

The petition claims that the DOC changed inmate Francisco Martinez鈥檚 parole eligibility date almost three decades after he began serving his sentences for murder and assault, and that this change is forcing him to spend at least twenty extra months in prison despite a unanimous Parole Board vote in October 2020 authorizing his release from custody.

This continuing dispute, which affects dozens of other ACI inmates, is the result of the DOC鈥檚 unannounced decision a few years ago to retroactively change the way it calculates parole eligibility dates for certain individuals who were given consecutive sentences for their crimes.

State law provides that when a prisoner is serving more than one sentence, 鈥渁 parole permit may issue whenever he or she has served a term equal to one third (1/3) of the aggregate time which he or she shall be liable to serve under his or her several sentences鈥︹�� However, instead of aggregating consecutive sentences to determine parole eligibility as the law provides, and as the DOC used to do, the Department now requires inmates serving a life sentence to first meet the parole eligibility date for that sentence and then be 鈥減aroled鈥� to start serving their next consecutive sentence. Only after the inmate meets the parole eligibility time frame for that second sentence are they deemed eligible for release under the DOC policy.

Although Martinez has long since served the requisite time to be eligible for parole for both sentences, he was shocked to learn that when the Parole Board unanimously voted to grant him parole after also approving a community re-entry program for him last year, his 鈥減arole鈥� was to his consecutive five-year sentence for assault. Only after he waits the requisite parole eligibility period for that offense (in this case, 20 months) will he be considered for actual parole from the ACI. In other words, according to the DOC鈥檚 protocol, Martinez needs to be paroled twice before being eligible for release.

The habeas corpus petition calls the DOC鈥檚 actions in calculating separate parole eligibility dates for inmates like Martinez 鈥渁rbitrary鈥� and 鈥渋rrational,鈥� and notes that 鈥渞elease on parole can only mean release 鈥� from the physical custody鈥� of the DOC, not 鈥減arole to a consecutive sentence.鈥� The Parole Board claims it has no authority to challenge the DOC鈥檚 policy on how parole is calculated.

The habeas corpus petition, filed in R.I. Superior Court by 老澳门开奖结果 of Rhode Island cooperating attorneys Lisa Holley, Sonja Deyoe and Lynette Labinger and Assistant Public Defender Camille McKenna, argues that DOC鈥檚 action violates a host of constitutional rights and contravenes state law, and asks for Martinez鈥檚 immediate release from custody, subject to Parole Board conditions.

Last year, 老澳门开奖结果 cooperating attorneys filed a similar suit on behalf of Robert McKinney, an inmate who, after being granted parole, learned that he would still have to spend an extra three years in prison on a consecutive sentence before being released. Just days after the 老澳门开奖结果 petition was filed on McKinney鈥檚 behalf, the DOC agreed to release him. Despite that success and at least one other recent court decision ordering the release of another inmate under parallel circumstances, the DOC continues to require multiple grants of parole if a person is serving consecutive sentences that include a life sentence.

In filing today鈥檚 petition, the 老澳门开奖结果 indicated it was examining ways to address the problem more systematically, since many other inmates remain affected by the policy. A copy of the petition can be found here.

老澳门开奖结果 cooperating attorney Holley said today: 鈥淎lthough the RI Superior Court has ruled in numerous cases that the DOC鈥檚 change of parole eligibility based on their own interpretation of statute is incorrect, it is unconscionable that the DOC continues to implement a policy that violates inmates鈥� constitutional rights.鈥�

Attorney Deyoe added: 鈥淭he fact that an inmate remains held at the ACI after being found, by unanimous vote of the parole board, to be eligible for a parole permit is a serious waste of state resources and human capital. There is no benefit to society to continue to keep an individual imprisoned who has been granted parole. It continues to punish an inmate who has already served his time and an action that continues to cost the State money.鈥�

老澳门开奖结果 cooperating attorney Labinger stated: 鈥淭he DOC鈥檚 decision to upend decades of consistent interpretation of the State鈥檚 parole laws where there has been no change in the law and no mandate to do so has effectively increased the sentences that individuals must serve before being eligible for release. It is ill-considered and unnecessary. It not only contravenes the law; it is poor public policy.鈥�