HOW LONG UNTIL I GET OUT OF JAIL?

The answer depends on the sentence, the institution in which it is served, credit for pre-sentence custody, parole eligibility, remission, statutory release, and any order delaying or restricting release. These rules are technical and the dates should be calculated from the actual warrant of committal and sentence documentation.

FEDERAL SENTENCES

A sentence of two years or more is ordinarily served in a federal penitentiary. The Corrections and Conditional Release Act, section 119 governs day-parole eligibility. For most determinate federal sentences, day-parole eligibility is the later of six months into the sentence or six months before full-parole eligibility.

Under section 120, the ordinary full-parole eligibility date is after the lesser of one-third of the sentence or seven years, subject to important Criminal Code provisions and judicial orders. Eligibility is not a guarantee of release: the Parole Board considers risk and the statutory release criteria.

For most determinate federal sentences, section 127 sets statutory release at two-thirds of the sentence. Statutory release remains supervised and may be subject to conditions, suspension, revocation, or detention provisions.

ONTARIO PROVINCIAL SENTENCES

A sentence of less than two years is ordinarily served in an Ontario correctional institution. Provincial release calculations may involve earned remission under section 6 of the Prisons and Reformatories Act and sections 28 and 28.1 of Ontario’s Ministry of Correctional Services Act. Remission is earned through compliance with institutional rules, temporary-absence conditions and applicable rehabilitation or reintegration programming.

Ontario law also permits temporary absences for specified medical, humanitarian, rehabilitation or reintegration purposes and may permit an adjusted release immediately before a weekend or holiday in the circumstances set out by legislation.

WHY THE DATE MAY CHANGE

• Credit awarded for pre-sentence custody.

• Whether sentences are concurrent, consecutive or merged.

• Parole-ineligibility orders, life or indeterminate sentences, or detention provisions.

• Suspension or revocation of parole or statutory release.

• Remission earned, forfeited or restored in a provincial institution.

Read: A Short History of Conditional Release

This overview is general information, not a calculation of any person’s release date. Obtain advice based on the sentence and current correctional records.