§ 16-93-1004 - Procedure -- Medical and legal costs.
16-93-1004. Procedure -- Medical and legal costs.
(a) Any consenting eligible offender who is convicted of a felony or misdemeanor or who enters a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a felony or misdemeanor may upon recommendation of the prosecuting attorney be sentenced under this subchapter.
(b) The sentencing court may suspend imposition of the offender's sentence for a period not to exceed the period of years that is the maximum penalty for the offense for which convicted upon condition that the defendant be incarcerated in a county detention facility to participate in a community work project. In order for the defendant to participate in this program, space must be available in the county detention facility as certified by the county sheriff to the Department of Correction. The length of such community work project service and incarceration shall not exceed eighteen (18) months on a felony with work incentive credit or, in the case of a misdemeanor, the maximum length of incarceration provided for the misdemeanor reduced by the work incentive credit.
(c) In the event that during an offender's service under a community work project sentence pursuant to this subchapter, the offender withdraws his or her consent to participate in the project, the sentencing court shall have the offender brought before the court within a reasonable time after receiving such notice from either the sheriff of the county wherein the inmate is incarcerated or the prosecuting attorney of that county and make inquiries of the offender to determine whether or not consent to proceed under the program is being withdrawn. In the event that the court finds that the offender is withdrawing consent to participate in the community work project, the court shall remand the offender to the department if the offense was a felony or, in the case of a misdemeanor, to the sheriff of the county wherein the offense was committed, to serve the remaining portion of the offender's sentence. The offender shall be entitled to all good time and parole eligibility considerations as provided for by law. Any portion of the sentence which was suspended by the court at the time of the original sentence shall not be affected by the court's removal of an offender from participating in the community work project.
(d) In the event that the offender's conduct while participating in a community work project is unsatisfactory, the court may upon petition filed by the prosecuting attorney schedule a hearing to determine if the offender should be allowed to continue to participate in the community work project. This hearing shall follow the same format and accord the offender the same safeguards as the revocation procedure as outlined in 5-4-309. The burden of proof necessary for revocation of a sentence under this subchapter shall be a preponderance of the evidence that the offender's conduct has not been satisfactory while participating in a community work project. If the court determined that the offender's conduct has not been satisfactory, the court shall remand the offender to the department if the offense was a felony or, in the case of a misdemeanor, to the sheriff of the county wherein the offense was committed, to serve all or a part of the remaining portion of the offender's original sentence. The offender shall be entitled to all good time and parole eligibility considerations as provided for by law.
(e) Nothing in this subchapter shall grant any offender the right to be sentenced under these provisions as a matter of right.
(f) The state shall be responsible for the cost of medical treatment of an eligible offender sentenced pursuant to the felony provisions of this subchapter:
(1) That is the result of injuries sustained on the work site or during transportation to and from the work site by a governmental agency; or
(2) That is the result of illness or injuries sustained by persons committed to the county jail and who are assigned to a community work project. However, the department may transfer any inmate committed to jail pursuant to this subchapter to a medical or treatment facility it deems appropriate for the treatment.
(g) The state shall be responsible for any liability incurred as the result of implementation and execution of this subchapter involving persons sentenced as eligible offenders for felony offenses who, pursuant to this subchapter, may be injured while on a community work project or while being transported to or from a community work project by a governmental agency.
(h) The state shall reimburse the counties for housing inmates sentenced pursuant to the felony provisions of this subchapter at a rate to be determined by the Board of Corrections.