NC Sentencing Laws

In NC, there are several important sentencing laws that impact an offender’s sentence:

  • Fair Sentencing Act (affects sentences of crimes committed between 7/1/1981 and 9/30/1994)
  • Structured Sentencing Act (affects sentences of crimes committed on or after 10/1/1994)
  • Justice Reinvestment Act (passed in 2011 and the various changes have varied effective dates)

Fair Sentencing Act

  • Applies to offenders who committed felony crimes on or after 7/1/1981 and before 10/1/1994.
  • Offenders sentenced to prison are eligible for parole.
  • Sentence length is reduced greatly by “good time” credits.
  • Length of parole is set by the Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission (PRSPC).
  • Offenders who are granted parole must live by the rules and conditions of their parole as set by the PRSPC. If an offender on parole does not live up to these rules and conditions, the parole may be revoked, and the offender will be returned to prison to continue serving their sentence.

Structured Sentencing Act

  • Applies to offenders who committed felony crimes on or after 10/1/1994.
  • Offenders sentenced to prison are NOT eligible for parole, except misdemeanor DWI.
  • Each felon will receive a minimum sentence and a maximum sentence.  By law, the offender will serve 100 percent of the minimum sentence and any jail credit ordered by the judge is counted towards meeting the minimum sentence.  The offender will have a maximum release date and minimum release date, and cannot be released before the minimum release date minus any jail credit.
  • To replace parole, the General Assembly established Post-Release Supervision for offenders, which is a period of time being supervised in the community following the completion of the minimum sentence.
  • B1-E Felons: serve 6-9 months post-release supervision (Justice Reinvestment Act increased this to 12 months in 2011)
  • F-I Felons: serve NO post-release supervision (Justice Reinvestment Act increased this to 9 months in 2011)
  • Some sex offenders: serve 5 years post-release supervision
  • The date an offender is released on post-release supervision is set by law and is not decided, nor can it be changed, by the PRSPC.  However, the conditions under which the offender will be supervised are set by the PRSPC, and the PRSPC may revoke the offender’s supervision.

Justice Reinvestment Act

  • Offenders sentenced to prison are NOT eligible for parole, except misdemeanor DWI.
  • For crimes committed on or after 2/2/11, the periods of post-release supervision were changed to:
    • B1-E Felons: serve 12 months post-release supervision
    • F-I Felons: serve 9 months post-release supervision
    • Some sex offenders: serve 5 years post-release supervision
  • The date an offender is released on post-release supervision is set by law and is not decided by the Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission.  However, the conditions under which the offender will be supervised are set by the PRSPC, and the PRSPC may revoke the offender’s supervision.
  • Adds the Advanced Supervised Release program:
    • For offenders sentenced on or after 1/1/12
    • Establishes another, different set of minimum and maximum sentences than those of Structured Sentencing
    • Is an option for judges to use in place of minimum and maximum sentences of Structured Sentencing
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