Opinion ID: 4249591
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Special Sentence Provisions.

Text: In 2005, the legislature simultaneously enacted two special sentence provisions that commit offenders convicted of sex crimes4 to IDOC custody for supervision after completion of the offender’s sentence. See 2005 Iowa Acts ch. 158, §§ 39–40 (codified at Iowa Code §§ 903B.1– .2 (Supp. 2005)). Section 903B.2 states in full: A person convicted of a misdemeanor or a class “D” felony offense under chapter 709, section 726.2, or section 728.12 shall also be sentenced, in addition to any other punishment provided by law, to a special sentence committing the person into the custody of the director of the Iowa department of corrections for a period of ten years, with eligibility for parole as provided in chapter 906. The special sentence imposed under this section shall commence upon completion of the sentence imposed under any applicable criminal sentencing provisions for the underlying criminal offense and the person shall begin the sentence under supervision as if on parole. The person shall be placed on the corrections continuum in chapter 901B, and the terms and conditions of the special sentence, including violations, shall be subject to the same set of procedures set out in 4The special sentences apply to offenders convicted of sex abuse under chapter 709, incest under section 726.2, or exploitation of minors under section 728.12. 6 chapters 901B, 905, 906, and 908, and rules adopted under those chapters for persons on parole. The revocation of release shall not be for a period greater than two years upon any first revocation, and five years upon any second or subsequent revocation. A special sentence shall be considered a category “A” sentence for purposes of calculating earned time under section 903A.2. (Emphasis added.) We rejected constitutional challenges to section 903B.2 in State v. Wade, 757 N.W.2d 618, 623–30 (Iowa 2008). The offender is committed to IDOC custody either for life or ten years. Section 903B.1 applies to offenders convicted of a “class ‘C’ felony or greater” and the commitment term lasts “for the rest of the person’s life.” Section 903B.2 applies to offenders convicted of class “D” felonies or misdemeanors and imposes a ten-year commitment term. The provisions otherwise are textually identical.5 The offender begins this special sentence “as if on parole.”6 Iowa Code §§ 903B.1–.2. But, IDOC can seek to revoke the offender’s parole, 5Iowa Code section 903B.1 states in its entirety: A person convicted of a class “C” felony or greater offense under chapter 709, or a class “C” felony under section 728.12, shall also be sentenced, in addition to any other punishment provided by law, to a special sentence committing the person into the custody of the director of the Iowa department of corrections for the rest of the person’s life, with eligibility for parole as provided in chapter 906. The special sentence imposed under this section shall commence upon completion of the sentence imposed under any applicable criminal sentencing provisions for the underlying criminal offense and the person shall begin the sentence under supervision as if on parole. The person shall be placed on the corrections continuum in chapter 901B, and the terms and conditions of the special sentence, including violations, shall be subject to the same set of procedures set out in chapters 901B, 905, 906, and chapter 908, and rules adopted under those chapters for persons on parole. The revocation of release shall not be for a period greater than two years upon any first revocation, and five years upon any second or subsequent revocation. A special sentence shall be considered a category “A” sentence for purposes of calculating earned time under section 903A.2. (Emphasis added.) 6The legislature later amended sections 903B.1 and 903B.2 to authorize IDOC to begin the offender’s sentence on work release or parole. 2009 Iowa Acts ch. 119, §§ 59– 7 which these statutes refer to as “a revocation of release.”7 Id. Unlike a revocation of traditional parole, the offender is not incarcerated for his remaining sentence. Instead, these special sentence statutes prescribe maximum “revocation of release” periods. An offender’s first “revocation of release shall not be for a period greater than two years.” Id. His second revocation is limited to five years. Id. Both statutes state, “A special sentence shall be considered a category ‘A’ sentence for purposes of calculating earned time under section 903A.2.” Id. Neither provision expressly refers to the jail-time credit statute, section 903A.5. We have not previously addressed whether earned-time or jail-time credits apply to reduce the maximum periods for a revocation of a release in either section 903B.1 or section 903B.2.