In re the Personal Restraint of Dutcher

The legislature has provided that an inmate may earn early release credits and become eligible for early release into community custody, and that eligibility for community custody depends upon the merits of the offender’s release plan. The fact that the Department of Corrections (DOC) has decided to refer the offender for a civil commitment hearing does not change the department’s obligation, under the statute, to consider the inmate’s plan for community custody. The DOC thus had no authority to adopt a policy preventing William Dutcher from submitting a release plan and preventing its staff…