INDIANAPOLIS - Thanks to the efforts of State Rep. Steve Stemler (D-Jeffersonville) and State Sen. Connie Sipes (D-New Albany), convicted criminals will no longer be allowed to exploit a legal loophole that allowed them to reduce their prison sentences by as much as a year.

Effective July 1, Public Law 80 (House Enrolled Act 1271) will prohibit inmates from gaining credit time for both a high school diploma and a GED, which garner one year and six months of credit time respectively.

"While I applaud anyone who seeks to better themselves through education, it is unreasonable for an inmate to shorten their sentence by earning both types of diplomas," said Stemler, who authored the law.

Stemler noted that he was inspired to author PL 80 in response to the story of John Gatz, a Jeffersonville teenager who was killed in a drunken-driving crash by classmate Paige Grable. 

State correction officers made a mistake in calculating Grable's original release date.  The date was scheduled based on credit time earned for both a GED and high school diploma, even though this had been prohibited by Department of Correction (DOC) policy since 2005.  Once the error was realized, Grable was forced to serve four additional months.

"Adding this law to state code ensures that these mistakes do not occur," Stemler said.  "An early release for Ms. Grable would have been a serious injustice to the Gatz family."   

There are currently 23 offenders in the DOC system that have earned credit time for both diplomas.

The bill also takes important steps to ensure that child molesters and other sex offenders serve longer sentences.  Under current state code, all convicts can earn one day of credit time for every one day served.  Under the new law, child molesters and murderers who committed a sex offense along with their crime can only earn one day of credit time for every six days served.

"While I hope that many who are incarcerated take advantage of the opportunity to earn a diploma, the intent of the law is fair and needs to be followed," said Sipes, who sponsored the law in the Senate.  "It was important that this be clarified to eliminate future confusion."

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