Blog

Doing “Hard Time”

March 06, 2014

There are more than twenty enumerated crimes in the Oklahoma Statutes known as “85% crimes.” These are all very serious crimes, and persons convicted of one or more of these offenses face significant time in prison. This post is dedicated to explaining the 85% crimes, and the consequences they carry.

The List

Title 21, Section 13.1 of the Oklahoma Statutes sets forth the 85% crimes.
They are:

First Degree Murder
Second Degree Murder
First Degree Manslaughter
Poisoning with Intent to Kill
Shooting with Intent to Kill
Use of a Vehicle to Facilitate Use of a Firearm (drive-by shooting)
Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Battery with a Deadly Weapon, or Assault and Battery with a Deadly Weapon (or by other means likely to produce death or great bodily harm)
Assault with Intent to Kill
Conjoint Robbery
Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon
First Degree Robbery
First Degree Rape
First Degree Arson
First Degree Burglary
Bombing
Any Crime Against a Child (child abuse, child neglect, etc.)
Forcible Sodomy
Child Pornography
Child Prostitution
Lewd Molestation
Abuse of a Vulnerable Adult Who is a Resident of a Nursing Facility
Aggravated Trafficking
Aggravated Assault and Battery Upon Any Person Defending Another Person from Assault and Battery

85 Percent of What?

Any person sentenced to prison time for one or more of the crimes listed above will serve at least 85% of their prison sentence before becoming eligible for consideration for parole. For example, if you are convicted of First Degree Robbery and sentenced to serve 10 years in prison, you will serve, day for day, at least 85% of your 10 year sentence (8.5 years) before becoming eligible for consideration for parole. This also applies to a sentence of time in county jail for any one of the crimes listed in Title 21, Section 13.1.

No Earned Credits Allowed

If sentenced to prison time on an 85% crime, a person is not eligible for earned credits or any other type of credits that would reduce the length of their sentence to less than 85% of the prison sentence imposed. After serving 85% of his or her prison sentence, the person becomes eligible to receive earned credits. The earned credits framework in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections is commonly referred to as “levels.” The different levels are as follows:

Level One: inmate receives no credits per month
Level Two: inmate receives 22 credits per month (an extra 22 days credited toward his or her sentence for every month served)
Level Three: inmate receives 33 credits per month
Level Four: inmate receives 44 credits per month
Enhanced Level Three: inmate receives 45 credits per month
Enhanced Level Four: inmate receives 60 credits per month

If someone is charged with an 85% crime, he or she needs to retain an experienced criminal defense attorney as soon as possible. In some cases, it may be possible for a diligent defense attorney to negotiate an agreement with the State to amend an 85% crime to a crime that does not require a person to serve a minimum percentage of their sentence before becoming eligible for consideration for parole or to receive earned credits.

As always, if you have further questions regarding this topic, please post your inquiry and I will do my best to answer it. If you have a suggestion for next week’s topic, let me know!

Serious Crime