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| Inmates could petition for reduced sentences |
| By Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |
| Published: 07/25/2002 |
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Sweeping revisions to the Wisconsin criminal code - the long-delayed companion legislation to the state's 2 1/2-year-old 'truth-in-sentencing' law - are just a few pen strokes from becoming law. But although the measure is long overdue, some legislators are urging Gov. Scott McCallum to veto it - and even some of the judges who worked on the changes are concerned about the increased responsibility that it would put on their courts. The concern: While the original law set out to end the state's parole system, the new legislation would allow some inmates to petition courts for reductions in their sentences. If McCallum allows the new law to stand in the budget he's expected to sign this week, nearly 500 felonies, scattered throughout the statutes, will come under one uniform code, and a Sentencing Commission will be created to develop permanent guidelines and share data with judges statewide to avoid sentence disparity. The new code would change the truth-in-sentencing law to permit inmates convicted of certain types of felonies to petition judges for sentence reductions after serving 85% - or for other crimes, 75% - of their sentences. The petitions by inmates could be quashed by the judge or a prosecutor - or even in some cases by the victim. Under the truth-in-sentencing law enacted in 1997, anyone committing a crime on or after the effective date of Dec. 31, 1999, has no chance of parole. These inmates must serve the entire prison term imposed by the sentencing judge, followed by extended supervision in the community. Inmates imprisoned for crimes committed before truth in sentencing remain eligible for parole - becoming eligible after serving just a quarter of their sentence. If denied parole, they generally are set free automatically after serving two-thirds of their sentence and reaching their so-called mandatory release date. Under the old law, judges often considered the possibility of parole and added years to a sentence in hope of ensuring that an offender remained behind bars for what the judge deemed a sufficient term. |
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