Many families and friends find themselves in a tough position when a loved one is incarcerated. The main thing they want to know is "when is my [insert relationship here] getting out?" Whether it is for personal, family, or financial reasons, that day can never come soon enough.
What is gain time anyway?
In Florida, what the county jail and state prison (Department of Corrections) call gain time is sometimes called "time for good behavior" in other states. However, it works differently here. In the Sunshine State, an incarcerated person serves a minimum 85% of what they are sentenced to by the Judge, so that's "gain time." If the prisoner misbehaves or breaks rules, they can have gain time taken away. On the other end, a prisoner can earn extra gain time by participating in programs like GED, job training, or drug/mental health counseling. Each county jail has different rules and programs as does the state prison. One thing is for sure, gain time is up to the jail/prison administration and to them alone.
Credit for time served is your friend
Every incarcerated person gets day for day credit for the time they are in jail or in prison on a particular case. So, if someone is arrested and can't afford to bond out, every day they are waiting for their case to resolve will be applied to their sentence. If they are sentenced to probation and are arrested on a violation of probation warrant, the time they are waiting in the county jail will apply as credit against their sentence as well. The county clerk of courts is the primary entity that will have a record of the correct credit for time served.
In this world, it never hurts to ask
If you are trying to find out a specific date that someone will be released, don't spend time trying to do all of the calculations yourself. The Florida Department of Corrections has a website with an estimated date of release (or end of probation supervision) and each county jail calculates an estimated release date as well. Just call those facilities up and ask them. If for some reason you believe they are not correct, then you can start crunching the numbers yourself. A criminal defense attorney can never guarantee when someone will be released from incarceration prior to the end of their sentence, so if you are basing whether you will take a plea on the representation of an attorney, then you are making a big mistake.
A criminal accusation is a complicated situation that can be made easier by hiring an experienced criminal defense attorney. Seth Hyman Law ( https://www.sethhymanlaw.com ) exclusively provides legal assistance in criminal, DUI, and driving offense cases throughout Central Florida. Call 407-274-7501 or email seth@sethhymanlaw.com for a free consultation.