Release Eligibility Dates :: Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog

Release eligibility is a concept that is misunderstood by many Tennesseans who are discussing criminal sentencing. Most often, it is misinterpreted as automatically allowing a defendant to walk out of confinement after serving only a portion of their sentence, especially by those who are displeased with the criminal justice system and complain that criminal defendants often get off too easy. The truth is that the release eligibility date ("RED") is merely the first date at which a criminal offender can be released from confinement, but it is certainly not a guarantee of being released.

An offender's RED is determined by both the nature of the offense of which he or she was convicted and the defendant's criminal history. Upcoming blogs will focus on the distinction between the different criminal history categories and how the classifications affect defendants with regard to sentencing and parole. Although most criminal offenses provide for a defendant to be released in conjunction with his or her criminal history classification, many offenses are specifically excluded from this framework and have mandatory minimum sentences that must be served or are specifically named as offenses for which the offender must serve 100% of the statutorily required sentence. The offenses of murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree, especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated kidnapping, especially aggravated robbery, aggravated rape, rape, aggravated sexual battery, rape of a child, aggravated arson, aggravated child abuse, aggravated rape of a child, sexual exploitation of a minor involving more than one hundred (100) images, aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor involving more than twenty-five (25) images, and especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor are all offenses for which sentences must be served at 100% in Tennessee.

It is important that your lawyer know which offenses do and do not qualify for an early release when considering plea agreements and trial tactics. Contact an experienced Tennessee criminal defense attorney to discuss your charges and sentencing options.