CO Code § 17-26-109 (2021)
2021 Colorado Code|Title 17 - Corrections|Article 26 - Jails|Part 1 - General Provisions|§ 17-26-109. Deductions of Time - Record Keeping - Forfeitures - Definition - Repeal

  [ ] Every person who is sentenced to and imprisoned in any county jail of this state or sentenced to pay a fine and costs or either or all thereof and who performs faithfully the duties assigned to him or her during his or her imprisonment therein earns deductions from the time of his or her sentence as follows:   [ ] An inmate receives a one-day deduction for each fifteen days on his or her sentence;    [ ] In addition to the deduction described in subsection (1)(a) of this section, an inmate may receive a ten-day deduction for each thirty days on his or her sentence if he or she:   Is designated by the county sheriff as a trusty prisoner;    Is engaged in work within or outside the walls of the jail;    Performs his or her work in a credible manner;    Conducts himself or herself in accordance with the rules of the jail; and    Is approved by the sheriff to receive a deduction pursuant to this subsection (1)(b);       [ ] In addition to the deduction described in subsection (1)(a) of this section, an inmate may receive a thirteen-day deduction for each thirty days on his or her sentence if the inmate:   Is designated by the county sheriff as a trusty prisoner;    Is engaged in work within or outside the walls of the jail;    Performs his or her work in a creditable manner;    Conducts himself or herself in accordance with the rules of the jail; and    Is approved by the sheriff to receive a deduction pursuant to this subsection (1)(c);       An inmate may receive a deduction of up to thirteen days for each thirty days on his or her sentence if the inmate:   Is sentenced to the county jail as a direct sentence or as a condition of probation; and    Is permitted to participate in work, educational programming outside the jail, medical release, home detention, or day reporting programs pursuant to section 18-1.3-106 (1);         Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an inmate may not receive a deduction of more than fifteen days in any thirty-day period, regardless of how many programs the inmate participates in, whether the inmate is designated a trusty prisoner or is sentenced as described in subsection (1)(d) of this section. (e) (I) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an inmate may not receive a deduction of more than fifteen days in any thirty-day period, regardless of how many programs the inmate participates in, whether the inmate is designated a trusty prisoner or is sentenced as described in subsection (1)(d) of this section.    Subsection (1)(d) of this section and this subsection (1)(e) are repealed, effective March 1, 2022.         In addition to the deductions described in subsections (1)(a), (1)(b), (1)(c), and (1)(d) of this section, an inmate may receive a three-day maximum deduction when the inmate takes an unusual or extraordinary action, as determined by the county sheriff. This deduction may be granted on an incident-by-incident basis and is not subject to the deduction cap described in subsection (1)(e) of this section. (f) (I) In addition to the deductions described in subsections (1)(a), (1)(b), (1)(c), and (1)(d) of this section, an inmate may receive a three-day maximum deduction when the inmate takes an unusual or extraordinary action, as determined by the county sheriff. This deduction may be granted on an incident-by-incident basis and is not subject to the deduction cap described in subsection (1)(e) of this section.    If a county sheriff awards a deduction pursuant to this subsection (1)(f), he or she shall notify the chief judge of the judicial district of such fact not later than three business days after the deduction is awarded. In providing such notice, the sheriff shall indicate how many days were deducted and the nature of the unusual or extraordinary action taken by the inmate.          [ ] Each county sheriff shall develop and implement a program and schedule for administering reductions of inmates' sentences in his or her county jail, as described in this section and in accordance with the expectations and standards of the community in which he or she serves. Each county jail shall keep a record of each inmate's deductions of time and changes in deductions of time as a result of policy violations by the inmate.      [Editor's note: This version of subsection (3)(a) is effective until March 1, 2022.] If an inmate is found to have committed a willful violation of any of the rules or regulations of the jail, he or she may forfeit some or all of the deductions from his or her sentence that he or she received up to the time of the violation, as determined by the sheriff of the county in which the jail is situated.    If an inmate escapes or attempts to escape from a jail or an alternative sentence program, he or she forfeits all deductions from his or her sentence that he or she received up to the time of the escape or attempted escape.       An inmate who is sentenced to any alternative sentence pursuant to section 18-1.3-106 arising out of a sentence pursuant to section 42-4-1307 (5)(a)(I), (5)(b), or (6)(a)(I) may receive a sentence deduction pursuant to this section only after serving any mandatory period of time pursuant to those sections.    As used in this section, “day” means a twenty-four-hour calendar day.    Editor's note: This version of the introductory portion to subsection (1) is effective until March 1, 2022.  (1) [ ] Every person who is sentenced to and imprisoned in any county jail of this state who performs faithfully the duties assigned to him or her and conducts himself or herself in accordance with the rules of the jail earns deductions from the time of his or her sentence as follows:  Editor's note: This version of the introductory portion to subsection (1) is effective March 1, 2022. Editor's note: This version of subsection (1)(a) is effective until March 1, 2022.  (a) [ ] An inmate receives a seven-day deduction for each thirty days on his or her sentence which shall be calculated on a pro-rated basis from the commencement of the sentence, all or part of which is subject to forfeiture if the inmate is found to have violated any of the rules and regulations of the jail or has not faithfully accepted or completed the duties assigned to him or her;  Editor's note: This version of subsection (1)(a) is effective March 1, 2022. Editor's note: This version of subsection (1)(b) is effective until March 1, 2022.  [ ] In addition to the deduction described in subsection (1)(a) of this section, an inmate may receive a three-day deduction for each thirty days on his or her sentence if he or she:  Editor's note: This version of subsection (1)(b) is effective March 1, 2022. Editor's note: This version of subsection (1)(c) is effective until March 1, 2022. Editor's note: This version of subsection (1)(c) is effective March 1, 2022. Editor's note: This version of subsection (2) is effective until March 1, 2022.  (2) [ ] Each county jail shall keep a record of each inmate's deductions of time and changes in deductions of time as a result of policy violations by the inmate.  Editor's note: This version of subsection (2) is effective March 1, 2022.   (a) [ ] If an inmate is found to have committed a willful violation of any of the rules or regulations of the jail, the sheriff of the county in which the jail is situated shall determine whether the inmate shall forfeit some or all of the deductions from the inmate's sentence through implementation of a process as outlined in a policy provided to all inmates, which is applied consistently and complies with the best practices for correctional settings.  Editor's note: This version of subsection (3)(a) is effective March 1, 2022.  History. Source: L. 77: Entire title R&RE, p. 937, § 10, effective August 1. L. 2009: Entire section amended,(HB 09-1263), ch. 105, p. 382, § 1, effective August 5. L. 2017: Entire section amended,(HB 17-1015), ch. 71, p. 221, § 1, effective August 9. L. 2021: IP(1), (1)(a), (1)(b), (1)(c), (2), and (3)(a) amended,(SB 21-271), ch. 462, p. 3164, § 176, effective March 1, 2022; (1)(e)(II) added by revision,(SB 21-271), ch. 462, pp. 3164, 3331, §§ 176, 803.    Editor's note:    This section is similar to former § 27-26-109 as it existed prior to 1977.    Section 803(2) of chapter 462 (SB 21-271), Session Laws of Colorado 2021, provides that the act changing this section applies to offenses committed on or after March 1, 2022.     Cross references:   For credit for presentence confinement, see § 18-1.3-405 .   ANNOTATION   Annotator's note. Since § 17-26-109 is identical to repealed § 27-26-109 , a relevant case construing that provision has been included in the annotations to this section.   Only payment of the judgment entitles a person, sentenced to jail under a body execution, to a release before expiration of the time of confinement fixed by the court. Hershey v. People ex rel. Johnson, 91 Colo. 113 , 12 P.2d 345 (1932).   Therefore, the provisions of this section are not applicable to one confined under a body execution. Hershey v. People ex rel. Johnson, 91 Colo. 113 , 12 P.2d 345 (1932).   No credit for presentence confinement. There is nothing in this article mandating the deduction of the period of presentence confinement from a sentence to a county jail. Castro v. Dist. Court, 656 P.2d 1283 (Colo. 1982).   Persons serving jail time as a condition of probation are eligible for good time credit under the provisions of this section and § 17-26-115 . One who is imprisoned in the county jail, whether as a result of a sentence to imprisonment or a sentence to probation with a condition of imprisonment, cannot be denied the benefits of the good time statutes. Faulkner v. Dist. Court, 826 P.2d 1277 (Colo. 1992) (decided prior to 2017 repeal of § 17-26-115 ).   Court cannot deny benefits of this section. It is not within the power of the sentencing court to impose a sentence which denies to one imprisoned in the county jail the benefits of this section: the effect of this section is to proscribe the imposition of a “flat” time sentence which denies a defendant his statutory right to a reduction from the time of his sentence for good behavior. Hemphill v. Dist. Court, 197 Colo. 431 , 593 P.2d 972 (1979).