A new early release earned credit program that the DFL-controlled Minnesota Legislature approved two years ago has yet to debut in the state’s prison system.
But a handful of Republicans are carrying bills this session that would refine the Department of Corrections program, including bills that would:
- Narrow the scope of which prisoners are eligible to earn early release credits; and
- Provide the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) more discretion on when it can revoke early release credits for inmate conduct.
In 2023, the DFL trifecta passed the Minnesota Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act (MRRA), a wide-ranging list of reforms to the criminal justice system, which passed on party lines. Sen. Michael Kreun, R-Blaine, has introduced a bill to completely repeal the new program.
The MRRA reduces the amount of prison time an offender must serve “from two-thirds of a sentence to just one-half of a sentence before they’re eligible for parole,” Kreun explained during a recent press conference. “It puts 92% of Minnesota’s prison population on a path to early release.”
Giving commissioner discretion to revoke early release credits
On Tuesday, the House Public Safety Committee held a hearing on HF963, which would establish that earned incentive release credits can be revoked if the credit holder violates rules of the prison or otherwise commits a criminal act while incarcerated.
Under current law, earned incentive release credits, once earned, are not explicitly revocable. The language of the bill would vest that discretionary authority to revoke those earned early released credits with the DOC commissioner.
“This (bill) makes it explicitly clear that we, the legislature, think it’s also important to take away credit if there’s some persistent rule-breaking or other things that would warrant it,” said Rep. Marion Rarick, R-Maple Lake, who is carrying the legislation in the House.
Democrats chimed in with some feedback on the bill, including refining its language to be more precise about what types of in-prison conduct could result in revoking credits. Rep. Brad Tabke, DFL-Shakopee, said he was concerned the language in the bill is too vague and subjective.
“When a person violates rules of the facility, which can be extraordinarily subjective, I find that extremely problematic,” Tabke said. “That subjectivity can basically nullify the entire program based on one person’s thoughts and how they are interpreting and using the rules of the facility.”
DOC Commissioner Paul Schnell said his staff have been tasked with rolling out a plan for implementing the new program that includes evaluating in-prison conduct that could result in revoking already-earned credits for release. He acknowledged that Rarick’s bill would provide legislative backing to a policy being developed.
“We want to make sure people participate in the programs and they demonstrate the kinds of change in that environment in order for us to make an assessment about the applicability of that behavior change inside the facility to the community,” Schnell said during his testimony on the bill.
Daughter of man murdered in road rage incident pushes for reform of new law
While the bill was laid over for possible inclusion in a public safety omnibus bill, the fact that it received a hearing in the House was positive news for Jennifer Murphy, a Faribault-area woman who has been working with Republican legislators over the last year to close what she sees as loopholes in the MRRA.
For more than a year Murphy has been steadfast in advocating for passage of a related bill, SF78, which would expand the scope of inmates not eligible for the new earned early release credit program.
Currently, the law only excludes those serving life sentences. Murphy wants to see those exclusions expanded to those serving sentences for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and first or second-degree manslaughter.
Murphy has a personal stake in the issue because in 2022 her 79-year-old father, Larry Myers, was murdered by a man following a minor accident. The suspect, Leslie Sanders, 53, was arrested, charged and pled guilty to second-degree murder in what was described in court records as an act of road rage after a fender bender between the two men.
“Several witnesses told Chief Hanson that the defendant, who was driving a silver Ford Fl50, got out of his truck while his truck was still rolling, approached the driver’s side of a white Chevrolet Equinox being driven by [Myers], and just started punching [Myers] numerous times in the face,” a criminal complaint says.
Sanders had been charged with first-degree assault right after the incident, but those charges were elevated to second-degree murder after Myers died of the injuries. Sanders was sentenced to 11 years in prison and received 466 days of credit for time served. Murphy is concerned that the MRRA would allow him to be released in just four years.
“There’s a real difference between a person who steals a car and a man who kills someone with their bare hands,” Murphy said, adding that she supports elements of the earned credit program for early release. “It’s good incentive to keep prisoners and offenders on a path to rehabilitation so that if and when they enter back into the community, they are better people. But I am concerned some of these violent offenders aren’t ready to be released after just four years.”
Murphy has been working with her state senator, John Jasinski, R-Faribault, on SF78, and hopes that she can get support from Democratic legislators so that it can get a hearing in the Senate.
She said that during the 2024 legislative session, her requests to DFL senators and staff who controlled the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety committee fell on deaf ears. But she told Alpha News on Tuesday she’s encouraged by the support that members of the House Public Safety Committee have given to HF963.
A bill that is similar in language to that of SF78 was also heard in the House Public Safety Committee on Tuesday. It was laid over for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill.
Hank Long
Hank Long is a journalism and communications professional whose writing career includes coverage of the Minnesota legislature, city and county governments and the commercial real estate industry. Hank received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, where he studied journalism, and his law degree at the University of St. Thomas. The Minnesota native lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and four children. His dream is to be around when the Vikings win the Super Bowl.
