Ways to Reduce Your Federal Prison Sentence

Federal prison sentences can be very long, and with most of your time to serve, it will most likely be a long, slow sentence. However, there are some ways to reduce your sentence.

Cooperation

Cooperation is the way you can minimize your prison sentence. In the federal criminal justice system, there are actually rules that allow you to cooperate with the government or have a third party cooperate in some cases to reduce your sentence. The most common one is called a Rule 35 motion. Another almost as common one is called a 5K1 motion. Both motions are filed by the US attorney after the defendant has provided substantial assistance to the government. There is a good chance of getting a substantial reduction in your prize by cooperating, some say the average is around 1/3 off, but there are many factors that are taken into account. A professional prison consulting firm can help you through this process, particularly helping to cooperate with third parties, something that lawyers are less familiar with and don’t really deal with.

Good time

Good time in the federal system has a 15% discount on the prize. You must behave while in prison to receive the full discount amount, or you can have a good time drafted by the BOP. If you calculate the actual percentage of good time, it really turns out that you serve about 87% or get about 13% off. There have been many disputes stemming from this disparity, mostly through appeals, and the way the calculations are done due to their formula amounts to only a 13% discount.

RDAP

The Residential Drug Abuse Program is a program that the BOP has for inmates who qualify. It offers up to 12 months of discount if it is completed, but it is usually less. There are many restrictions to whether you qualify for the program such as: no violent offenders, must use drugs, committed a rape, used a firearm in a crime, just to list a few.