2023 Nebraska Revised Statutes › Chapter 83 - State Institutions › 83-1,110 - Committed offender; eligible for release on parole; when.

83-1,110.
Committed offender; eligible for release on parole; when.
(1) Every committed offender shall be eligible for parole upon the earliest of the following:
(a) When the offender has served one-half the minimum term of his or her sentence as provided in sections 83-1,107 and 83-1,108;
(b) For a committed offender serving a maximum term of twenty years or less, two years prior to the offender's mandatory discharge date; or
(c) For a committed offender serving a maximum term of more than twenty years, when the offender has served eighty percent of the time until the offender's mandatory discharge date.
(2) The board shall conduct a parole review not later than sixty days prior to the date a committed offender becomes eligible for parole as provided in this subsection, except that if a committed offender is eligible for parole upon his or her commitment to the department, a parole review shall occur as early as is practical. No such reduction of sentence shall be applied to any sentence imposing a mandatory minimum term.
(3)(a) This subsection applies to any committed offender sentenced to consecutive terms, whether received at the same time or at any time during the original sentence.
(b) The maximum terms shall be added to compute the new maximum term which, less good time, shall determine the date when discharge from the custody of the state becomes mandatory.
(c) The committed offender shall be eligible for release on parole upon the earliest of the following:
(i) When the offender has served the total of one-half the minimum term as provided in sections 83-1,107 and 83-1,108;
(ii) For a committed offender serving a maximum term of twenty years or less, two years prior to the offender's mandatory discharge date; or
(iii) For a committed offender serving a maximum term of more than twenty years, when the offender has served eighty percent of the time until the offender's mandatory discharge date.
Source
Laws 1969, c. 817, § 41, p. 3093;
Laws 1972, LB 1499, § 9;
Laws 1975, LB 567, § 6;
Laws 1992, LB 858, § 5;
Laws 1992, LB 816, § 5;
Laws 1995, LB 371, § 21;
Laws 2003, LB 46, § 23;
Laws 2023, LB50, § 47.
Effective Date: September 2, 2023
Annotations
1. Good time credit
2. Consecutive sentences
3. Mandatory minimum
4. Miscellaneous
1. Good time credit
A defendant must serve the mandatory minimum sentence before earning good time credit toward either the maximum or minimum sentence. State v. Castillas, 285 Neb. 174, 826 N.W.2d 255 (2013).
Good time reductions do not apply to mandatory minimum sentences. State v. Castillas, 285 Neb. 174, 826 N.W.2d 255 (2013).
For purposes of good time computation, an offender's sentence is the sum of all sentences he or she receives, regardless of whether additional sentences are imposed or whether the offender is resentenced under the new Convicted Sex Offender Act after the effective date of the new good time law, July 15, 1992. Duff v. Clarke, 247 Neb. 345, 526 N.W.2d 664 (1995).
A defendant sentenced as a habitual criminal to the mandatory 10-year sentence under section 29-2221 is not entitled to good time credit pursuant to this section on his or her mandatory minimum sentence. Ebert v. Nebraska Dept. of Corr. Servs., 11 Neb. App. 553, 656 N.W.2d 634 (2003).
2. Consecutive sentences
Although no reduction for good time is accumulated for sentences imposing a mandatory minimum term of incarceration for the duration of that term, this section does not require that all sentences carrying a mandatory minimum term be served consecutively. State v. Lantz, 290 Neb. 757, 861 N.W.2d 728 (2015).
Multiple mandatory minimum sentences must be served consecutively. State v. Castillas, 285 Neb. 174, 826 N.W.2d 255 (2013).
The date of an offender's initial incarceration is the date on which service of a consolidated sentence begins. Stewart v. Clarke, 240 Neb. 397, 482 N.W.2d 248 (1992).
Under the statutory structures of 1975 Neb. Laws, LB 567, and 1969 Neb. Laws, LB 1307, an offender's consecutive term imposed during incarceration is consolidated with the prisoner's previous sentence so that the minimum term of the consolidated sentence is the total or sum of the minimum terms of the subsequent offense and previous offense and the maximum term is the total or sum of the maximum terms of such subsequent offense and previous offense. The consolidated sentence commences at the date of the initial incarceration. Absent approval of the Board of Pardons, good time is computed under the statutory provisions in effect at the date of initial incarceration. Luxford v. Benson, 216 Neb. 115, 341 N.W.2d 925 (1983).
Laws 1975, L.B. 567, made no changes in the provisions for consolidation of consecutive sentences, and the pertinent provisions of subsection (2) of this section are to be applied to consecutive sentences where one was imposed before and one after the effective date of L.B. 567. Gochenour v. Bolin, 208 Neb. 444, 303 N.W.2d 775 (1981).
3. Mandatory minimum
In imposing a sentence subject to a habitual criminal enhancement under this section, a court is not required to pronounce that the sentence is the "mandatory minimum" for the Department of Correctional Services to treat it as such in calculating the inmate's mandatory discharge date. Gray v. Frakes, 311 Neb. 409, 973 N.W.2d 166 (2022).
Good time reductions do not apply to mandatory minimum sentences. State v. Russell, 291 Neb. 33, 863 N.W.2d 813 (2015).
A defendant must serve the mandatory minimum sentence before earning good time credit toward either the maximum or minimum sentence. State v. Castillas, 285 Neb. 174, 826 N.W.2d 255 (2013).
Good time reductions do not apply to mandatory minimum sentences. State v. Castillas, 285 Neb. 174, 826 N.W.2d 255 (2013).
When a mandatory minimum sentence is involved, the mandatory discharge date is computed by subtracting the mandatory minimum sentence from the maximum sentence, halving the difference, and adding that difference to the mandatory minimum. State v. Castillas, 285 Neb. 174, 826 N.W.2d 255 (2013).
A defendant sentenced as a habitual criminal to the mandatory 10-year sentence under section 29-2221 is not entitled to good time credit pursuant to this section on his or her mandatory minimum sentence. Ebert v. Nebraska Dept. of Corr. Servs., 11 Neb. App. 553, 656 N.W.2d 634 (2003).
4. Miscellaneous
This section, which makes a convicted offender sentenced to life imprisonment ineligible for parole until the life sentence is commuted to a term of years is a permissible condition under Neb. Const. Art. IV, sec. 13, and it does not infringe on the Board of Parole's authority to grant paroles. Adams v. State, 293 Neb. 612, 879 N.W.2d 18 (2016).
An inmate sentenced to life imprisonment for first degree murder is not eligible for parole until the Nebraska Board of Pardons commutes his or her sentence to a term of years. Poindexter v. Houston, 275 Neb. 863, 750 N.W.2d 688 (2008).
The provisions of this section are to be applied to consecutive sentences whether imposed before or after the effective date of Laws 1975, LB 567. Whited v. Bolin, 210 Neb. 32, 312 N.W.2d 691 (1981).
Sentencing judge's announcement he considered possible effect of statutes permitting prison authorities to ameliorate sentences did not violate constitutional due process, and sentences were not excessive. State v. Houston, 196 Neb. 724, 246 N.W.2d 63 (1976).
Sentences of one defendant modified to fit apparent purpose of making total less harsh than that of other defendant. State v. Pope, 192 Neb. 755, 224 N.W.2d 521 (1974).
Where life sentence with no minimum imposed for second degree murder, eligibility for parole same as though statutory minimum of ten years had been expressed. State v. Thompson, 189 Neb. 115, 201 N.W.2d 204 (1972).
One sentenced for a specific term is eligible for parole upon completion of his term less the reductions granted him. State v. Rhodes, 187 Neb. 332, 190 N.W.2d 623 (1971).
A committed offender is eligible for release on parole upon completion of his minimum term less reductions or upon completion of a minimum sentence provided by law less reductions if approved by the sentencing judge or his successor. State v. McMillian, 186 Neb. 784, 186 N.W.2d 481 (1971).