The past week has been incredible! My mom, my amazing webmaster, already shared the fantastic news about my early release on the blog. I wanted to write a journal entry to explain the complex calculations that led to this outcome.
The key to my early release is the RDAP (Residential Drug Abuse Program), which I was recently accepted into. But first, let’s break down the math. We start with my 36-month sentence and subtract from there. I get a 15% reduction for good behavior, which is 5.4 months, and I have no intention of messing that up. Next, we have the First Step Act (FSA), a bill signed into law by Trump—one of the few things I give him credit for. FSA grants 15 days off your sentence for every month you’re enrolled in credited classes in federal prison (up to a year off). Actually, it’s only 10 days for the first two months, but I’ll round up. I’ve been taking classes since I arrived, so I should qualify for all of these credits. Then there’s the halfway house/home confinement, which typically grants inmates 2-3 months off their sentence since they’re still technically under federal custody during this community reintegration period.
Now for the game-changer: RDAP. This program is only offered at select prisons and is only for non-violent, non-gun-related offenders. A judge must refer you to the program at sentencing, and you must also pass an interview at the prison. The program consists of living in a separate dorm area (hence the “residential” part) and attending drug/alcohol rehabilitation classes for several hours daily for nine months. Upon completion, inmates receive either a year or nine months off their sentence, depending on the original length. Since my 36-month sentence is the cutoff for the year reduction, I’ll receive nine months. If I had been sentenced to 36 months and one day, I would have gotten a year, but it wouldn’t have mattered since you have to be in the program for the full nine months to get the credit. Another perk of completing RDAP is that they typically recommend (and get) a six-month halfway house/home confinement instead of the usual 2-3 months. They start new classes every three months and try to time placements so that graduation aligns with the new release date, avoiding the hassle of moving people back to the general population.
Okay, finally, the big news!
I was accepted into the March RDAP class, which concludes on December 8th, 2025. Yes! I was incredibly nervous because if I hadn’t gotten into this class, I would have had to wait until the June class, adding three months to my sentence.
Let’s finish the math and make sure it adds up:
- Time served in county jail before bond: 1.5 months
- Good time credit: 5.4 months
- FSA (Thanks, Trump): approximately 5 months
- RDAP: 9 months
- Halfway house/home confinement: 6 months
Total time earned: 26.9 months
36 months – 26.9 months = 9.1 months.
So, I must serve at least 9.1 months, but I can’t get the RDAP credit until I complete the nine-month program. When I graduate on December 8th, I will have technically served 10.5 months and should go straight to home confinement on December 9th. Talking to other prisoners, I will have to check into a halfway house but should be allowed to go straight to house arrest since I have a stable home.
I just have to stay on the straight and narrow for the next nine months because rumor has it they expel people from RDAP for even the smallest infractions. That won’t be a problem for me. So, bottom line: see you all in nine months!
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