Arizona Department of Corrections Early Release Programs

Arizona Department of Corrections early release programs are shaped by the state’s 1994 truth-in-sentencing law, which requires most incarcerated people to serve roughly 85 percent of the sentence a judge imposed before any release becomes possible. The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry (ADCRR) runs a handful of pathways that can shorten time behind bars for those who qualify: earned release credits, a 90-day transition program, medical parole, and commutation through the Board of Executive Clemency. Traditional parole still exists, but only for offenses committed before January 1, 1994.¹

Earned Release Credits

Earned release credits are the primary way most incarcerated people in Arizona shorten their time in prison. For most offenses, the rate is one day of credit for every six days served, which works out to about a 14 percent reduction. Someone sentenced to seven years, maintaining clean conduct throughout, would serve roughly six years behind bars.²

A more generous rate exists for people convicted solely of drug possession offenses, including possession of marijuana, a dangerous drug, a narcotic drug, or drug paraphernalia. If the person completes a drug treatment program or other major self-improvement program through ADCRR and has no prior violent or aggravated felony conviction, the rate rises to three days for every seven days served. That translates to roughly a 43 percent reduction.²

Credits are not automatic and they can be taken away. ADCRR may forfeit five days of earned credits each time a person tests positive for prohibited drugs while incarcerated. Credits are also forfeited for filing frivolous legal claims or testifying falsely in court proceedings. People sentenced to serve the full term imposed by the court receive no earned release credits at all.³

The 90-Day Transition Program

ADCRR’s transition program moves eligible people into community-based services for up to 90 days before their earned release date. It is not work release. The focus is reentry support: substance abuse treatment, anger management, cognitive behavioral therapy, parenting skills, education, and job placement.⁴

To qualify under the general track, a person must meet all of the following:

No conviction for a sexual offense or violent crime, with limited exceptions for assault, aggravated assault, and robbery.
No outstanding felony detainers in any jurisdiction.
Satisfactory compliance with the programming on their individualized corrections plan.
Classification at minimum or medium custody based on an objective risk assessment.
No major violent rule violations during the current incarceration, and no other major rule violations in the previous six months.

A separate track covers drug possession convictions. People in that group who agree to the conditions set under the earned release credit statute, and who have no concurrent sentence for a non-drug offense, are eligible and must be released into the program. The same disqualifiers apply: a prior violent crime conviction, a felony detainer, or recent major rule violations will keep someone out.⁴

Medical Parole

Arizona allows early release for people with severe, incapacitating medical conditions. The process starts with a licensed physician examining the person and providing a written diagnosis that identifies the incapacitating physical condition, describes it in detail, and gives a prognosis for recovery.⁵

The ADCRR Director must accept the diagnosis before the Board of Executive Clemency can grant medical parole, and the condition must leave the person unlikely to pose a danger to public safety. The board generally cannot act more than one year before the person’s parole or earned release credit date. The exception is for people whose medical evidence shows a life expectancy of less than one year, where the board can move sooner. Medical parole can be revoked if the person recovers enough to again be considered a public safety risk.⁵

Commutation Through the Board of Executive Clemency

Commutation is a request to the governor, by way of the Board of Executive Clemency, to reduce a sentence. The board hears these applications in two phases. Phase I is a document review without the applicant present, where members read sentencing records, pre-sentence investigation reports, criminal history, institutional conduct, and any submissions from officials or interested parties. The public and victims may observe, but only board members speak. If the board votes to advance the case, Phase II is scheduled and the applicant can participate by phone, video, or sometimes in person.⁶

A unanimous recommendation from the board requires the governor to act within 90 days. A split recommendation leaves the timing to the governor. Phase I hearings are currently being scheduled about six to nine months, or longer, after the board receives an application.⁶

Parole for Pre-1994 Offenses

Traditional parole in Arizona now applies to a shrinking group: people convicted of offenses committed before January 1, 1994. For everyone sentenced for later conduct, the truth-in-sentencing law eliminated parole entirely.¹

For those who do qualify, the ADCRR Director must certify eligibility before the Board of Executive Clemency considers the case. The board authorizes parole only if it finds a substantial probability the person will remain at liberty without violating the law and that release serves the state’s best interests. People sentenced for serious offenses under the old framework, including dangerous crimes against children and offenses listed under the state’s repetitive offender statutes, face closer scrutiny and more restrictive conditions.

Programs That No Longer Apply to Most People

Two options come up often but affect few current cases. Home arrest exists only for felonies committed before January 1, 1994, and even then is limited to lower-level, non-dangerous felonies with no prior felony convictions. ADCRR policy confirms that anyone whose offense date falls on or after January 1, 1994 is ineligible.⁷⁸

A separate release option exists for aggravated DUI sentences through a continuous alcohol monitoring program. It requires serving at least 20 percent of the incarceration term, daily testing for alcohol and drug use, and participation in an accredited treatment program.⁹

Who Is Categorically Excluded

Arizona law places hard limits on certain convictions, and no amount of good behavior overcomes them. A person sentenced to natural life for a dangerous crime against a child cannot be commuted, paroled, work-furloughed, work-released, or released on any basis during their natural life. Someone sentenced for a first-degree dangerous crime against a child involving sexual assault or sexual conduct with a child under 12 must serve at least 35 years, and even then release depends on commutation by the governor rather than any standard early release program.¹⁰

More broadly, people convicted of dangerous crimes against children in the first degree are not eligible for suspension of sentence, probation, pardon, or any release from confinement until the full sentence is served or commuted.¹⁰ Institutional conduct also matters: assaults on staff, contraband, failed drug tests, and refusal of required programming such as sex offender treatment can all push a release date back.

What Release Actually Looks Like: Community Supervision

Reaching an earned release date does not mean walking away free. The sentencing court imposes a term of community supervision at the time of sentencing, and the released person must serve it under conditions set by ADCRR. Those conditions can include regular check-ins, drug testing, employment requirements, electronic monitoring, mandatory counseling, and restrictions on travel and associations.¹¹

One detail catches people off guard. If someone reaches their earned release date but refuses to sign the conditions of community supervision, ADCRR will not release them. They stay in prison until the full sentence expires, and if they still refuse to sign at that point, the law requires them to serve the entire community supervision term inside prison. The only way out of community supervision is a waiver from the sentencing court at the original sentencing.³

Violations and Their Costs

ADCRR has discretion with minor noncompliance, like a missed check-in or a first failed drug test, and may respond with closer supervision, counseling, or transitional housing. Serious violations or new criminal conduct get referred to the Board of Executive Clemency for a revocation hearing, and the person can be returned to prison to finish the remaining sentence. A new offense also brings fresh criminal charges on top of revocation.

Forfeited earned release credits are difficult to restore, so losing them pushes the release date further out. Absconding is handled especially harshly: time spent on the run does not count toward the remaining community supervision term, meaning the person effectively lengthens their own sentence by leaving.³

Victim Notification Before Release

Arizona’s constitution guarantees crime victims the right to be heard at any proceeding involving post-conviction release.¹² Receiving notice requires filing a post-conviction notification request (PCNR) form with each agency involved, which can include the county prosecutor, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, ADCRR, the county adult probation department, the county sheriff, or the Board of Executive Clemency.¹³

Once a PCNR is on file with ADCRR, Victim Services provides written and phone notice at least 15 days before release and a phone call on the actual release day. Escape or abscondence triggers immediate phone and written notification. Victims must keep their contact information current. Board of Executive Clemency hearings require a separate request sent directly to the board.¹³

1
Arizona Legislature. Truth in Sentencing Issue Brief
2
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 41-1604.07 – Earned Release Credits, Forfeiture, Restoration
3
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 41-1604.07 – Earned Release Credits, Forfeiture, Restoration
4
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 31-281 – Transition Program, Report, Definition
5
Arizona Legislature. HB 2380 – Medical Parole, Section 31-419
6
Arizona Board of Executive Clemency. Types of Hearings
7
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 41-1604.13 – Home Arrest, Eligibility, Victim Notification, Conditions, Applicability, Definitions
8
Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry. Department Order 1002 – Inmate Release Eligibility System
9
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 31-233 – Order for Removal, Purposes, Duration, Continuous Alcohol Monitoring Program, Failure to Return, Classification
10
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-705 – Dangerous Crimes Against Children, Sentences, Definitions
11
Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry. Community Reentry
12
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Constitution Article 2, Section 2.1 – Victims Bill of Rights
13
Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry. Victim Services FAQs