On March 12th, 2009, Representative Danny Davis (D-IL) introduced HR 1475, to restore the former system of good time allowances toward service of Federal prison terms, and for other purposes, otherwise known as The Good Time Bill. He introduced a similar bill towards the end of the 2008 session. This bill would reduce the sentences of people in federal prisons by increasing the "good time" credit they could receive and save US tax-payers more than 2 billion dollars per year. The reduction would apply to all federal prisoners except the ones serving life sentences.

      This site is intended to give you information about how the current federal sentencing system impacts all Americans and how the Good Time Bill could change it for the better. Please explore the site and learn how our prison system has become overwhelmingly crowded and why you as a tax-paying citizen should support the Good Time Bill.

      The Good Time Bill is an effort to reduce prison overcrowding and its associated costs by providing incentives for inmates to work towards reduced sentences. The ability to work towards reduced time would be available to all federal prisoners except the ones serving life sentences.

      The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 virtually abolished federal parole. Currently, people incarcerated in federal prison who were sentenced after the 1984 Act must serve the vast majority of their sentence no matter what, as the good-time credit they receive counts for very little. Today's federal prisoners are eligible to earn a maximum of 47 days per year of their sentence for early release by abiding by prison rules and regulations.¹

      The Good Time Bill would increase the number of days a prisoner could earn towards early release to 60-120 per year, depending on the length of the sentence. For every day that each person serves in accordance with the rules and regulations of the correctional facility and US law, each person incarcerated in the federal system would earn a number of days back each month, along the following scale:

• If the sentence is 6 months to one year -- 5 days per month
• If the sentence is more than one year, up to 3 years -- 6 days per month
• If the sentence is more than 3 years, up to 5 years -- 7 days per month
• If the sentence is more than 5 years, up to 10 years -- 8 days per month
• If the sentence is more than 10 years -- 10 days per month

      An increased incentive for good behavior through a path toward early release will make prisons safer for prisoners and staff, while also helping to reduce the enormous strain of prison overcrowding on US taxpayers.

• Federal prisons are dangerously and expensively overcrowded.
• The cost of federal prison overcrowding impacts all Americans. The sky-rocketing costs are heaped on the American tax payer.
• People are growing old behind bars at our expense and their absence is felt in communities across the country.
• The current situation is not fair and it’s time for a change.

Visit other resources to learn more about the importance of this bill and prison overcrowding, and find out more about what you can do to support this bill.