Virginia Law

Article 4. Earned Sentence Credits for Persons Committed Upon Felony Offenses Committed on or After January 1, 1995.

A. Every person who is convicted of a felony offense committed on or after January 1, 1995, and who is sentenced to serve a term of incarceration in a state or local correctional facility shall be eligible to earn sentence credits in the manner prescribed by this article. Such eligibility shall commence upon the person's incarceration in any correctional facility following entry of a final order of conviction by the committing court. As used in this chapter, "sentence credit" and "earned sentence credit" mean deductions from a person's term of confinement earned through adherence to rules prescribed pursuant to § 53.1-25, through program participation as required by §§ 53.1-32.1 and 53.1-202.3, and by meeting such other requirements as may be established by law or regulation. One earned sentence credit shall equal a deduction of one day from a person's term of incarceration.

B. A juvenile convicted as an adult and sentenced as a serious juvenile offender under clause (i) of subdivision A 1 of § 16.1-272 shall be eligible to earn sentence credits for the portion of the sentence served with the Department of Juvenile Justice in the manner prescribed by this article. Consideration for earned sentence credits shall require adherence to the facility's rules and the juvenile's progress toward treatment goals and objectives while sentenced as a serious juvenile offender under § 16.1-285.1.

1994, 2nd Sp. Sess., cc. 1, 2; 2008, c. 517.

A. A maximum of 4.5 sentence credits may be earned for each 30 days served on a sentence for a conviction for any offense of:

1. A Class 1 felony;

2. Solicitation to commit murder under § 18.2-29 or any violation of § 18.2-32, 18.2-32.1, 18.2-32.2, or 18.2-33;

3. Any violation of § 18.2-40 or 18.2-45;

4. Any violation of subsection A of § 18.2-46.5, of subsection D of § 18.2-46.5 if the death of any person results from providing any material support, or of subsection A of § 18.2-46.6;

5. Any kidnapping or abduction felony under Article 3 (§ 18.2-47 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2;

6. Any malicious felonious assault or malicious bodily wounding under Article 4 (§ 18.2-51 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2, any violation of § 18.2-51.6 or 18.2-51.7, or any felony violation of § 18.2-57.2;

7. Any felony violation of § 18.2-60.3;

8. Any felony violation of § 16.1-253.2 or 18.2-60.4;

9. Robbery under § 18.2-58 or carjacking under § 18.2-58.1;

10. Criminal sexual assault punishable as a felony under Article 7 (§ 18.2-61 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2;

11. Any violation of § 18.2-90;

12. Any violation of § 18.2-289 or subsection A of § 18.2-300;

13. Any felony offense in Article 3 (§ 18.2-346 et seq.) of Chapter 8 of Title 18.2;

14. Any felony offense in Article 4 (§ 18.2-362 et seq.) of Chapter 8 of Title 18.2, except for a violation of § 18.2-362 or subsection B or C of § 18.2-371.1;

15. Any felony offense in Article 5 (§ 18.2-372 et seq.) of Chapter 8 of Title 18.2, except for a violation of subsection A of § 18.2-374.1:1;

16. Any violation of subsection F of § 3.2-6570, any felony violation of § 18.2-128, or any violation of § 18.2-481, 37.2-917, 37.2-918, 40.1-100.2, or 40.1-103; or

17. A second or subsequent violation of the following offenses, in any combination, when such offenses were not part of a common act, transaction, or scheme and such person has been at liberty as defined in § 53.1-151 between each conviction:

a. Any felony violation of § 3.2-6571;

b. Voluntary manslaughter under Article 1 (§ 18.2-30 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2;

c. Any violation of § 18.2-41 or felony violation of § 18.2-42.1;

d. Any violation of subsection B, C, or D of § 18.2-46.5 or § 18.2-46.7;

e. Any violation of § 18.2-51 when done unlawfully but not maliciously, § 18.2-51.1 when done unlawfully but not maliciously, or § 18.2-54.1 or 18.2-54.2;

f. Arson in violation of § 18.2-77 when the structure burned was occupied or a Class 3 felony violation of § 18.2-79;

g. Any violation of § 18.2-89 or 18.2-92;

h. Any violation of subsection A of § 18.2-374.1:1;

i. Any violation of § 18.2-423, 18.2-423.01, 18.2-423.1, 18.2-423.2, or 18.2-433.2; or

j. Any violation of subdivision E 2 of § 40.1-29.

The earning of sentence credits shall be conditioned, in part, upon full participation in and cooperation with programs to which a person is assigned pursuant to § 53.1-32.1.

B. For any offense other than those enumerated in subsection A for which sentence credits may be earned, earned sentence credits shall be awarded and calculated using the following four-level classification system:

1. Level I. For persons receiving Level I sentence credits, 15 days shall be deducted from the person's sentence for every 30 days served. Level I sentence credits shall be awarded to persons who participate in and cooperate with all programs to which the person is assigned pursuant to § 53.1-32.1 and who have no more than one minor correctional infraction and no serious correctional infractions as established by the Department's policies or procedures.

2. Level II. For persons receiving Level II sentence credits, 7.5 days shall be deducted from the person's sentence for every 30 days served. Level II sentence credits shall be awarded to persons who participate in and cooperate with all programs, job assignments, and educational curriculums to which the person is assigned pursuant to § 53.1-32.1, but who require improvement in not more than one area as established by the Department's policies or procedures.

3. Level III. For persons receiving Level III sentence credits, 3.5 days shall be deducted from the person's sentence for every 30 days served. Level III sentence credits shall be awarded to persons who participate in and cooperate with all programs, job assignments, and educational curriculums to which the person is assigned pursuant to § 53.1-32.1, but who require significant improvement in two or more areas as established by the Department's policies or procedures.

4. Level IV. No sentence credits shall be awarded to persons classified in Level IV. A person will be classified in Level IV if that person willfully fails to participate in or cooperate with all programs, job assignments, and educational curriculums to which the person is assigned pursuant to § 53.1-32.1 or that person causes substantial security or operational problems at the correctional facility as established by the Department's policies or procedures.

C. A person's classification level under subsection B shall be reviewed at least once annually, and the classification level may be adjusted based upon that person's participation in and cooperation with programs, job assignments, and educational curriculums assigned pursuant to § 53.1-32.1. A person's classification and calculation of earned sentence credits shall not be lowered or withheld due to a lack of programming, educational, or employment opportunities at the correctional facility at which the person is confined. Records from this review, including an explanation of the reasons why a person's classification level was or was not adjusted, shall be maintained in the person's correctional file.

D. A person's classification level under subsection B may be immediately reviewed and adjusted following removal from a program, job assignment, or educational curriculum that was assigned pursuant to § 53.1-32.1 for disciplinary or noncompliance reasons.

E. A person may appeal a reclassification determination under subsection C or D in the manner set forth in the grievance procedure established by the Director pursuant to his powers and duties as set forth in § 53.1-10.

F. For a juvenile sentenced to serve a portion of his sentence as a serious juvenile offender under § 16.1-285.1, consideration for earning sentence credits shall be conditioned, in part, upon full participation in and cooperation with programs afforded to the juvenile during that portion of the sentence. The Department of Juvenile Justice shall provide a report that describes the juvenile's adherence to the facility's rules and the juvenile's progress toward treatment goals and objectives while sentenced as a serious juvenile offender under § 16.1-285.1.

G. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no portion of any sentence credits earned shall be applied to reduce the period of time a person must serve before becoming eligible for parole upon any sentence.

1994, 2nd Sp. Sess., cc. 1, 2; 2008, c. 517; 2020, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 50, 52; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 389; 2024, cc. 161, 162.

The Director shall:

1. Establish the criteria upon which a person shall be deemed to have earned sentence credits;

2. Establish the bases upon which earned sentence credits may be forfeited;

3. Establish the number of earned sentence credits which will be forfeited for violations of various (i) institutional rules, (ii) program participation requirements or (iii) other requirements for the retention of sentence credits; and

4. Establish such additional requirements for the earning of sentence credits as may be deemed advisable and as are consistent with the purposes of this article.

1994, 2nd Sp. Sess., cc. 1, 2; 2020, c. 759.

The Department shall ensure that educational, vocational, counseling, and substance abuse programs for earning sentence credits are available at all state correctional facilities.

2020, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 50, 52.