§ 12-19-2.2. Alternative confinement.
(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.