Good conduct time
Good conduct time, good time credit, good time, or time off for good behavior is a sentence reduction given to prisoners who maintain good behavior while imprisoned. Good time can be forfeited if a prisoner is determined to have committed disciplinary infractions and/or crimes while incarcerated.
Under United States federal law, prisoners serving more than one year in prison get 54 days a year of good time on the anniversary of each year they serve plus the pro rata good time applied to a partial year served at the end of their sentence, at the rate of 54 days per year.[1]
Persistent controversy over calculation of good conduct time in the United States was laid to rest in the Supreme Court decision in Barber v. Thomas in 2010.[2] The First Step Act, which provides for time credits for successful participation in recidivism reduction programs, also changes how the 54 days are calculated, applying a retroactive fix that could result in the release of 4,000 prisoners.[3]
References
- 18 U.S.C. ยง 3624
- "Legal Resource Guide to the Federal Bureau of Prisons 2014" (PDF). US Department of Justice. p. 13. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
- George, Justin (16 November 2018). "What's Really in the First Step Act?". Marshall Project.