Under Alaska statute 33.20.10, a prisoner is entitled to a deduction of one-third of the term of imprisonment if the prisoner follows the rules of that correctional facility. This is known as a "good time" credit and applies to prisoners convicted of an offense against the state or a political subdivision of the state.

Alaska has one of the most liberal "good time" provisions in the nation. Alaska's one-third sentence reduction for "good time" is quite high compared to federal statutes which require federal offenders to serve at least 85% of the sentence imposed. Additionally thirty states also require at least 85% of the sentence be served.

National studies indicate that roughly two-thirds of today's prison inmates are functionally illiterate. These studies further point out a strong correlation between illiteracy and criminal behavior and show recidivism rates to be much higher for low-level literacy criminals.

In 1983, Alabama conducted an investigation on recidivism on 129 inmates who had taken post-secondary education courses while incarcerated. The recidivism rate was 3.9% for those 129 individuals compared to a 25% rate for all others released by Alabama that same year.

SB 1 seeks to reduce the recidivism rate for Alaska's correctional facilities by encouraging prisoners to obtain their G.E.D. thereby increasing their chances of successfully re-intergrating back into society when they are released. Those who choose not to obtain their G.E.D. would forfeit the opportunity to be released early under Alaska's very liberal "good time" credit provision.

Those prisoners who are incapable of obtaining a G.E.D. or who have already received a high school diploma or its equivalent would not be subject to the provisions of SB 1.

SB 1 is pro-active legislation designed to reduce the recidivism rate through encouraging literacy among imprisoned criminal offenders. Lower recidivism means safer Alaskan communities.

DD/jja