In re the Personal Restraint of Silas

¶1 While incarcerated for two drug felonies, Roosevelt Silas III sought 50 percent earned early release time based on the 2003 amendments to the Sentencing Reform Act of 1981 (SRA), chapter 9.94A RCW, that increased eligibility for earned early release time from 30 to 50 percent for certain classes of offenders. The Department of Corrections (DOC) denied Silas’ request. The amended statute makes the enhanced credit unavailable to offenders with a conviction for “crimes against persons” as defined in the SRA. DOC determined Silas was ineligible for 50 percent earned early release time because…