Title: Jerry L. Wilson v. Michael W. Moore

State: florida

Issuer: Florida Supreme Court

Document:

Supreme Court of Florida
 
____________
No. SC94377
____________
JERRY L. WILSON,
Petitioner,
vs.
MICHAEL W. MOORE
and
FLORIDA PAROLE COMMISSION,
Respondents.
[March 22, 2001]
PER CURIAM.
Jerry L. Wilson petitions this Court for a writ of habeas corpus.  We have
jurisdiction.  Art. V, § 3(b)(9), Fla. Const.  We deny the petition.
FACTS  
In early 1992, while serving numerous sentences for drug
trafficking crimes committed in 1984 and 1986, Wilson wrote the
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Florida Parole Commission (hereinafter the Commission) asserting
that he had become rehabilitated and that he wished to be released
early on control release.  In mid-1992, the Commission offered
Wilson the option of early release on control release.  Wilson
accepted control release and signed the waiver form and was
released.  Wilson violated the terms and conditions of his release by
the commission of new drug offenses and was returned to prison. 
Upon his return, Wilson’s incentive gain time, basic gain time,
control release credits, and administrative gain time were forfeited
due to the control release revocation.  He then filed a petition for writ
of habeas corpus asserting that the State had improperly forfeited his
credits and that he had been forced out on control release.
ANALYSIS
We conclude that this case is controlled by our decision in Westberry v.
Moore, 772 So. 2d 1208 (Fla. 2000), in which we recognized that, like other
types of gain time, control release credits and provisional credits are forfeitable
upon control release revocation if the releasee’s underlying criminal offenses were
committed after the effective date of the control release gain time forfeiture
provisions or if the releasee waived ex post facto claims by accepting early release
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on control release.  
The concept of waiver was originally explained in our decision in Bowles v.
Singletary, 698 So. 2d 1201 (Fla. 1997).  In that case we held that the State can
forfeit regular gain time (basic and incentive) upon control release revocation even if
the releasee's underlying criminal offense was committed prior to the effective date
of the control release program because, by accepting early release on control
release, the releasee waived any ex post facto claims.  Id.  We later extended that
same concept to the forfeiture of control release credits in Lewis v. Moore, 753 So.
2d 1242 (Fla. 2000), and to provisional credits (as well as control release credits) in
Westberry.  
Since Wilson sought early release on control release and accepted its terms
and conditions, he, like the releasees in Bowles, Lewis, and Westberry, waived any
ex post facto claims he may have had.  In fact, Wilson’s case is nearly identical to
Westberry’s, except that instead of losing regular gain time, control release credits
and provisional credits, Wilson lost regular gain time, control release and
administrative gain time.  This Court has already held that provisional credits and
administrative gain time were merely different names for essentially the same type of
prison overcrowding credits.  See Griffin v. Singletary, 638 So. 2d 500, 501 (Fla.
1994).  Accordingly, the same principles should apply to this case and we hereby
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extend the reasoning of Westberry to this case and hold that, like the other types of
gain time, control release, provisional credits and administrative gain time are
forfeitable upon control release revocation if the releasee’s underlying criminal
offenses were committed after the effective date of the control release gain time
forfeiture provisions or the releasee waived ex post facto claims by accepting
release on control release.
The petition for writ of habeas corpus is denied.
It is so ordered.
WELLS, C.J., and SHAW, HARDING, ANSTEAD, PARIENTE, LEWIS and
QUINCE, JJ., concur.
NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE REHEARING MOTION, AND
IF FILED, DETERMINED.
Original Proceeding - Habeas Corpus
Jerry L. Wilson, pro se, Florida City, Florida,
for Petitioner
Judy Bone, Assistant General Counsel, Department of Corrections, Tallahassee,
Florida; and William L. Camper, General Counsel, and Mark J. Hiers, Assistant
General Counsel, Florida Parole Commission, Tallahassee, Florida,
for Respondents