(a) (1) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, whenever a defendant is convicted of a nonviolent criminal offense and is between the ages of eighteen (18) and twenty-eight (28) and receives a maximum sentence of three (3) years or less to serve, and the department of corrections is satisfied that the ends of justice and the best interests of the public as well as the offender will be served by it, the director of the department of corrections may make application to the sentencing judge for an order that the convicted offender be placed in a well structured highly disciplined shock incarceration program administered by the department of corrections. The program shall include extensive physical regimentation, drug and alcohol abuse counseling, behavioral counseling and mandatory education courses and community restitution. This program will be open to first time offenders.
(2) For the purpose of this section, "first time offender" is defined as an individual who has not been incarcerated pursuant to a conviction.
(3) The written application by the director to the sentencing judge for an order directing that a sentenced person be confined in the shock incarceration program shall set forth his or her reason for seeking the order. The hearing on the application shall be held within ten (10) business days following the filing of the application. If the sentencing judge is unavailable to hear and consider the application the presiding justice of the superior court shall designate another judge to do so.
(b) The program shall be not less than one hundred eighty (180) days nor more than two hundred (200) days in duration and shall be operated in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the department of corrections and as otherwise provided for by law.
(c) The director or his or her designee shall report to the sentencing court whether the convicted offender completes or does not complete the program together with any additional information the director shall deem appropriate with respect to the offender's conduct during the course of the program. Upon receipt of this report, the original sentencing judge may, upon his or her own order, in the event of successful completion, suspend but not vacate the remainder of the offender's sentence and place the offender on probation as provided by this chapter; or upon his or her own order, in the event of unsuccessful completion, will confine the offender to the adult correctional institutions for the balance of the original sentence still remaining with credit being given for any time that may have been spent in the program. In the event that the unsuccessful completion of the program is the result of an additional criminal offense, then the additional sentence imposed for the new offense shall be in addition to and not concurrent with the original sentence.
(d) (1) Defendants convicted of a violent felony or previously convicted of a crime of violence shall not be eligible for this program.
(2) "Violent felony" as used in this section means any one of the following crimes or an attempt to commit that crime:
(i) Murder;
(ii) Manslaughter;
(iii) Sexual assault;
(iv) Mayhem;
(v) Robbery;
(vi) Burglary;
(vii) Assault with a dangerous weapon; and
(viii) Assault or battery resulting in serious bodily injury.
(e) The director of the department of corrections shall annually review the operation of the program and report his or her findings to the general assembly.
(f) There shall be created within the department of corrections a special division which shall supervise those convicted offenders who were placed on probation as a result of completing this program.
(g) The supervision of persons confined under the provisions of this section shall be conducted by the director or his designee.
(h) The director shall have full power and authority to enforce any of the provisions of this section by regulation, subject to the provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act, chapter 35 of title 42. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the department of corrections may contract with private agencies to carry out the provisions of this section. The civil liability of private agencies and their employees, acting within the scope of their employment, and carrying out the provisions of this section, shall be limited in the same manner and dollar amount as if they were agencies or employees of the state.
(i) The state planning council established pursuant to the provisions of § 42-11-10 is authorized and directed to determine the most appropriate location for the program.
(j) Alternative confinement pursuant to this section shall commence upon the approval by the general assembly of funding sufficient to carry out the purposes of this section.
History of Section.
P.L. 1994, ch. 435, § 1.