Persons sentenced under supervised release have the opportunity to continue participating in social life while serving their punishments through a criminal law institution designed for reintegration. Those who benefit from supervised release can complete their sentences without being completely excluded from society. Under supervision, sentenced individuals maintain contact with their families and the outside world while serving their punishment. Eligible prisoners are released shortly before their sentence ends and continue to be monitored as they rejoin social life. What is supervised release and how can one benefit from it? Detailed information follows in the article below.
Supervised Release Law
The supervised release law is an addition to the penal execution code. The law added to Law No. 5275 is known as the supervised execution statute and has enabled many people to be released from prisons. To benefit from supervised execution, a person must have been incarcerated. Eligibility requires that the person was sentenced and served time in prison, regardless of the length of the sentence. Prison authorities assess inmates’ behavior and prepare a report on their conduct. Based on that report, a sentenced person may be granted the right to supervised release and be discharged.
2019 Supervised Release Conditions
Changes made in 2019 introduced new conditions. In Decree-Law No. 671, specific provisions were made for crimes committed before 01.07.2016, establishing a distinct supervised release and execution system for offenses committed prior to that date. The main conditions established after the latest amendments are as follows:
- The period of supervised release application is set at 2 years.
- A person serving a continuous prison sentence may become eligible for conditional release after serving half of the sentence in the execution institution.
- For offenses committed after 01.07.2016, the previous execution provisions apply. Persons convicted for crimes committed after that date are not eligible for supervised release under the new arrangements.
Execution Calculation 2019
Sentence execution is calculated according to the penal execution law in force at the time the crime was committed. Other factors considered in calculating service of sentence include:
- Time spent in police custody,
- Time spent in pretrial detention,
- Whether there is a criminal record.
Age and similar circumstances also affect the calculation. A convicted person may be conditionally released after serving a specified portion of their sentence under the supervised release rules applicable at the time the offense occurred. For child offenders under 15, each day spent in prison is counted as one or two days regardless of the period when the crime was committed for calculation purposes.
Conditions to Benefit from the Supervised Release Law
Not every inmate qualifies for supervised release. To benefit from the law, inmates must meet several conditions. Applications of the supervised release law vary depending on the:
- Nature of the offense,
- Length of the sentence, and
- Personality and conduct of the convict.
To qualify for supervised release, the following are generally required:
- The inmate must spend the last 6 months of their sentence in an open prison. However, this condition will not apply until 31.12.2020. After that date, those wishing to benefit from the law will not be required to have served 6 months in an open prison, nor will transfer from a closed to an open prison be a prerequisite.
- The inmate must have good behavior, verified by a report prepared by the prison administration.
- Inmates seeking supervised release must file a petition. Applications made by petition are evaluated promptly by the execution judge.
- A person released under supervised release must comply with the measures assigned to them. If ordered to work on a public-benefit task, the released person does not have the right to object to that duty.
How to Comply with Supervised Release Rules
Individuals released under supervised release must follow certain rules during their supervised period. After release, they are given specific obligations that they must respect. Consequences for violating the supervised release rules include:
- The rights and form of execution granted by supervised release are revoked.
- The violator is returned to prison.
If an individual fails to report within three days after release or does not follow the rules of the supervision directorate, they will be returned to prison and lose their supervised release privileges.
Offenses Excluded from Supervised Release
Certain offenses are excluded from the supervised release regime, and those convicted of one or more such crimes cannot benefit from the law. According to Decree-Law No. 671, excluded offenses include:
- Intentional homicide convictions,
- Intentional bodily harm against descendants, ascendants, spouses, siblings, or persons unable to defend themselves physically or mentally,
- Offenses against private life and its confidential aspects,
- Sexual offenses affecting bodily integrity,
- Offenses related to drug production, possession or trafficking,
- Crimes against state security and state secrets,
- Offenses against national defense and constitutional order,
- Offenses under anti-terror laws and all organized crime convictions,
- Prisoners with unresolved disciplinary punishments in prison,
- Those whose conditional release rights have been revoked,
- Convictions for embezzlement in banking or breach of obligations.
Postponement of Execution
Postponement of imprisonment can be granted for certain conditions such as:
- Serious illness,
- Unsound mind, and
- Pregnancy.
Outside these conditions, those who present themselves within the period specified in the execution summons may request postponement if the intentional crime carries a sentence under three years or a negligent crime carries a sentence under five years. The prosecutor decides on these requests. If the prosecutor approves, the execution date can be postponed for up to one year, and the total postponement period cannot exceed two years.
Execution Summons
What is an execution summons? It is a notice sent by the prosecutor’s office calling the sentenced person to surrender. Those whose prison sentences have been finalized are sent an execution summons ordering them to surrender within 10 days. Individuals called by this notice must report within 10 days to begin serving their sentence. Failure to appear within the specified time results in an arrest warrant and the commencement of enforcement proceedings.