Hobbs v. Baird
Annotate this CaseChancey Baird was convicted of attempted first-degree murder and was sentenced to thirty years' imprisonment pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. 16-90-121. Baird filed a complaint for declaratory relief against the department of correction, arguing that the department erroneously interpreted the statute to mean that Baird's entire thirty-year sentence had to be served without eligibility for good time, and, therefore, the department erroneously denied him the opportunity to be eligible for parole. The circuit court granted declaratory judgment in favor of Baird, finding that based on the applicable statute, at the conclusion of ten years of his sentence, Baird's sentence could become subject to meritorious good-time credit. Ray Hobbs appealed on behalf of the department, arguing that the proper interpretation of the statute as it was written at the time of the crime is that it prohibited parole for any sentence, no matter how long. The Supreme Court affirmed, concluding that the language in the statute instructing that the sentence would be "subject to reduction by meritorious good-time credit" applies in those cases where an inmate is sentenced to more than ten years.
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