An Act To Provide Equity in County Jail Maximum Sentences
Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §1203, sub-§1-A, ¶C, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 788, §4, is amended to read:
(1) For a Class D or Class E crime the court must shall specify a county jail as the place of imprisonment.
(1-A) For a Class D crime the court shall specify a county jail as the place of imprisonment for all sentences of less than 6 months. For all sentences of 6 months or more the court shall commit the person to the custody of the Department of Corrections.
(2) For a Class A, Class B or Class C crime the court must shall:
(a) Specify a county jail as the place of imprisonment for any portion of the sentence that is 9 months or less than 6 months; and
(b) Commit the person to the Department of Corrections for any portion of the sentence that is more than 9 6 months or more.
Sec. 2. 17-A MRSA §1252, sub-§1, ¶A, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 693, §5, is amended to read:
Sec. 3. 17-A MRSA §1252, sub-§1, ¶B, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 693, §5, is amended to read:
(1) Specify Commit the person to a county jail as the place of imprisonment if the term of imprisonment is 9 less than 6 months or less; or
(2) Commit the person to the Department of Corrections if the term of imprisonment is more than 9 6 months or more.
summary
This bill changes the maximum county jail sentences from 9 months to less than 6 months. It also changes the maximum imprisonment in a county jail for crimes other than murder from 9 months to less than 6 months.