ISSUES WE ATTACK
Recalculation Issues
Recalculation issues refer to errors, delays, or inconsistencies in how correctional facilities calculate an incarcerated individual's sentence, credits, or release eligibility. These issues often arise from mistakes in applying good time credits, earned time credits, parole eligibility dates, or changes in sentencing laws.
*Why It Matters*
- Fairness & Accuracy: Incarcerated individuals may remain in prison longer than legally required due to
miscalculations, undermining justice and rehabilitation efforts.
- Policy & Law Compliance: Recalculation ensures that prisons properly apply legislative reforms, such as retroactive sentence reductions or credit-earning opportunities.
- Restoration & Redemption: Correcting these errors honors the principle that people deserve second chances when they've met legal requirements for early release or parole eligibility.
*Connection to the Parole Board*
- Eligibility Determination: Parole boards rely on accurate time calculations to assess when a person is legally eligible for a hearing. Recalculation errors can delay or even deny this opportunity.
- Decision-Making Integrity: Boards base release decisions on sentence timelines, rehabilitation progress, and public safety concerns. If the underlying time served is miscalculated, the process becomes unjust.
- Trust in the System: Proper recalculation fosters confidence among incarcerated individuals, families, and communities that the system is operating fairly and consistently.
"Recalculation issues are systemic problems in how time served, credits, and parole eligibility are tracked. Addressing them is critical to ensuring fairness, upholding legislative reforms, and restoring hope to incarcerated individuals seeking redemption."
Sentence Issues
Sentence issues refer to errors, inconsistencies, or injustices in how an individual's sentence is imposed, interpreted, or carried out. These issues can arise from judicial mistakes, unclear sentencing laws, disparities in sentencing practices, or the failure to apply new reforms and legal precedents fairly.
*Why It Matters*
- Fairness & Justice: Inaccurate or unjust sentences can lead to individuals serving more time than necessary or facing harsher punishment than intended.
- Equity & Reform: Addressing sentence issues ensures that changes in sentencing laws-such as reforms aimed at reducing mandatory minimums or correcting excessive punishments-are applied properly.
- Restoration & Redemption: Correcting sentencing errors helps ensure individuals are judged by their rehabilitation and potential for redemption, not by outdated or unjust rulings.
*Connection to the Parole Board*
- Eligibility & Review: Parole boards must work from the foundation of a lawful sentence. If the sentence itself is flawed, parole eligibility and hearings may be delayed, denied, or unjust.
- Decision-Making Integrity: Boards weigh public safety and rehabilitation against sentence requirements. If those requirements are rooted in error, the process is compromised.
- Trust in the System: Ensuring that sentences are fair and accurately reflect both the law and rehabilitation goals builds confidence in the justice system and strengthens community faith in second chances.
"Sentence issues occur when a person's punishment is imposed or interpreted unfairly. Addressing these problems is vital to ensuring justice, applying reforms equally, and giving people the opportunity for true redemption."
Street Time Not Being Allotted
Street time not being allotted refers to the failure to credit individuals for the time they have successfully spent in the community under parole, probation, or supervised release. When this time is not recognized, a person may be forced to serve additional prison time, even though they were already living under lawful supervision and meeting their obligations.
*Why It Matters*
- Fairness & Accuracy: Denying credit for street time means individuals are punished twice, undermining the principle of justice.
- Rehabilitation Recognition: Allotting street time acknowledges the progress people make while living responsibly in society. Ignoring it disregards rehabilitation efforts and compliance with parole conditions.
- Restoration & Redemption: Properly applying street time ensures that people are not unfairly pulled backward when they have already taken steps toward redemption and reintegration.
*Connection to the Parole Board*
- Eligibility & Release Decisions: Parole boards must account for street time when determining whether someone has completed enough of their sentence.
Failing to do so can extend incarceration beyond what is just or legal.
- Decision-Making Integrity: Boards rely on accurate sentence accounting.
Excluding street time distorts the true picture of a person's compliance and progress.
- Trust in the System: Recognizing street time builds faith in parole and probation systems, reinforcing that rehabilitation and good behavior in the community truly count.
"Street time not being allotted occurs when a person's time on parole or probation in the community is not credited toward their sentence. Fixing this issue is vital to fairness, honoring rehabilitation, and ensuring that second chances are real."
Separation of Powers Doctrine
The separation of powers doctrine refers to the constitutional principle that divides authority among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. In the context of prison reform, violations of this doctrine occur when one branch oversteps its role in sentencing, parole decisions, or corrections management-for example, when the parole board or corrections officials effectively alter or extend a judicially imposed sentence.
*Why It Matters*
- Fairness & Legality: When boundaries between branches of government are crossed, incarcerated individuals may be subjected to punishments or delays in release that were never authorized by a court.
- Checks & Balances: Respecting the doctrine ensures that sentencing and release decisions are made within proper authority, preventing abuses of power.
- Restoration & Redemption: Upholding this principle means individuals are treated according to lawful rulings, not arbitrary decisions, which supports a fair path toward redemption.
*Connection to the Parole Board*
- Proper Authority: The parole board's role is to evaluate rehabilitation and public safety within the framework of the sentence imposed by the judiciary. If the board effectively re-sentences individuals, it violates the separation of powers.
- Decision-Making Integrity: Maintaining clear boundaries strengthens the legitimacy of parole decisions and ensures they are grounded in law, not overreach.
- Trust in the System: When the separation of powers is respected, incarcerated individuals and communities can trust that parole decisions are fair, lawful, and consistent with the justice system's checks and balances.
"The separation of powers doctrine ensures that no single branch of government oversteps its authority in sentencing or parole. Protecting this principle is critical to fairness, justice, and the integrity of second chances."
Legal Contract
A legal contract refers to the binding agreement between the justice system and an incarcerated individual, typically expressed through sentencing orders, plea agreements, or parole terms. In the context of prison reform, issues arise when the government or corrections officials fail to uphold the terms of these agreements-for example, by not honoring sentencing reductions, earned credits, or conditions set by law or the courts.
*Why It Matters*
- Fairness & Accountability: Just like in any other contract, both sides must abide by the agreed terms. When the state fails to honor its side, individuals serve more time or face conditions that exceed what was legally agreed upon.
- Rule of Law: Treating sentencing and parole terms as binding contracts reinforces the importance of government accountability and transparency.
- Restoration & Redemption: Upholding legal agreements ensures that incarcerated individuals can trust the process, knowing their efforts at rehabilitation and compliance will be respected.
*Connection to the Parole Board*
- Contractual Integrity: The parole board's decisions must respect the binding nature of sentencing orders and agreements.
Altering or ignoring these terms undermines the fairness of the process.
- Decision-Making Legitimacy: A board that upholds contractual obligations strengthens trust and ensures decisions are rooted in law, not discretion or error.
- Trust in the System: When legal contracts are honored, individuals and communities believe that the justice system operates fairly and consistently, creating confidence in the path toward redemption.
"A legal contract in sentencing or parole is a binding agreement that must be honored. When the state fails to uphold its side, fairness is broken. Protecting these agreements ensures justice, accountability, and true opportunities for redemption."
Double Jeopardy
Double jeopardy is a constitutional protection that prevents an individual from being tried or punished twice for the same offense. In the context of prison reform, issues arise when incarcerated individuals face repeated punishments or extended incarceration for conduct that has already been addressed by the courts-such as losing earned credits, being denied parole based on the original offense alone, or being penalized multiple times for the same violation.
*Why It Matters*
- Fairness & Justice: Punishing a person more than once for the same act violates constitutional rights and undermines the legitimacy of the justice system.
- Limits on Government Power: Double jeopardy safeguards prevent the state from using its authority to repeatedly penalize individuals beyond what was originally ordered.
- Restoration & Redemption: Respecting this protection ensures that individuals can move forward without being endlessly re-traumatized or re-punished for the same conduct, allowing genuine opportunities for change.
*Connection to the Parole Board*
- Proper Scope of Review: The parole board should evaluate rehabilitation, community safety, and lawful eligibility— not retry or re-punish individuals for crimes already adjudicated.
- Decision-Making Integrity: Using the same offense as a basis for repeated denials or added punishments blurs the line between justice and overreach.
- Trust in the System: Protecting against double jeopardy builds faith that parole decisions will be fair, lawful, and centered on growth and rehabilitation rather than repeated punishment.
"Double jeopardy means no one should be punished twice for the same offense.
Respecting this principle is essential to fairness, lawful parole decisions, and creating real chances for redemption."