945.091 Extension of the limits of confinement; restitution by employed inmates.—
(1) The department may adopt rules permitting the extension of the limits of the place of confinement of an inmate as to whom there is reasonable cause to believe that the inmate will honor his or her trust by authorizing the inmate, under prescribed conditions and following investigation and approval by the secretary, or the secretary’s designee, who shall maintain a written record of such action, to leave the confines of that place unaccompanied by a custodial agent for a prescribed period of time to:
(a) Visit, for a specified period, a specifically designated place or places:
1. For the purpose of visiting a dying relative, attending the funeral of a relative, or arranging for employment or for a suitable residence for use when released;
2. To otherwise aid in the rehabilitation of the inmate and his or her successful transition into the community; or
3. For another compelling reason consistent with the public interest,
and return to the same or another institution or facility designated by the Department of Corrections.
(b) Work at paid employment, participate in an education or a training program, or voluntarily serve a public or nonprofit agency or faith-based service group in the community, while continuing as an inmate of the institution or facility in which the inmate is confined, except during the hours of his or her employment, education, training, or service and traveling thereto and therefrom. An inmate may travel to and from his or her place of employment, education, or training only by means of walking, bicycling, or using public transportation or transportation that is provided by a family member or employer. Contingent upon specific appropriations, the department may transport an inmate in a state-owned vehicle if the inmate is unable to obtain other means of travel to his or her place of employment, education, or training.
1. An inmate may participate in paid employment only during the last 36 months of his or her confinement, unless sooner requested by the Florida Commission on Offender Review or the Control Release Authority.
2. While working at paid employment and residing in the facility, an inmate may apply for placement at a contracted substance abuse transition housing program. The transition assistance specialist shall inform the inmate of program availability and assess the inmate’s need and suitability for transition housing assistance. If an inmate is approved for placement, the specialist shall assist the inmate. If an inmate requests and is approved for placement in a contracted faith-based substance abuse transition housing program, the specialist must consult with the chaplain before such placement. The department shall ensure that an inmate’s faith orientation, or lack thereof, will not be considered in determining admission to a faith-based program and that the program does not attempt to convert an inmate toward a particular faith or religious preference.
(c) Participate in a residential or nonresidential rehabilitative program operated by a public or private nonprofit agency, including faith-based service groups, with which the department has contracted for the treatment of such inmate. The provisions of ss. 216.311 and 287.057 shall apply to all contracts between the department and any private entity providing such services. The department shall require such agency to provide appropriate supervision of inmates participating in such program. The department is authorized to terminate any inmate’s participation in the program if such inmate fails to demonstrate satisfactory progress in the program as established by departmental rules.
(2) Each inmate who demonstrates college-level aptitudes by satisfactory evidence of successful completion of college-level academic coursework may be provided the opportunity to participate in college-level academic programs which may be offered at community colleges or universities. The inmate is personally responsible for the payment of all student fees incurred.
(3) The department may adopt regulations as to the eligibility of inmates for the extension of confinement, the disbursement of any earnings of these inmates, or the entering into of agreements between itself and any city or county or federal agency for the housing of these inmates in a local place of confinement. However, no person convicted of sexual battery pursuant to s. 794.011 is eligible for any extension of the limits of confinement under this section.
(4) The willful failure of an inmate to remain within the extended limits of his or her confinement or to return within the time prescribed to the place of confinement designated by the department shall be deemed as an escape from the custody of the department and shall be punishable as prescribed by law.
(5) The provisions of this section shall not be deemed to authorize any inmate who has been convicted of any murder, manslaughter, sexual battery, robbery, arson, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, kidnapping, escape, breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony, or aircraft piracy, or any attempt to commit the aforementioned crimes, to attend any classes at any Florida College System institution or any university which is a part of the State University System.
(6)(a) The department shall require inmates working at paid employment as provided in paragraph (1)(b) to use a portion of the employment proceeds to provide restitution to the aggrieved party for the damage or loss caused by the offense of the inmate, in an amount to be determined by the department, unless the department finds clear and compelling reasons not to order such restitution. If restitution or partial restitution is not ordered, the department shall state on the record in detail the reasons therefor.
(b) An offender who is required to provide restitution or reparation may petition the circuit court to amend the amount of restitution or reparation required or to revise the schedule of repayment established by the department or the Florida Commission on Offender Review.
(7) The department shall document and account for all forms for disciplinary reports for inmates placed on extended limits of confinement, which shall include, but not be limited to, all violations of rules of conduct, the rule or rules violated, the nature of punishment administered, the authority ordering such punishment, and the duration of time during which the inmate was subjected to confinement.
(8)(a) The department is authorized to levy fines only through disciplinary reports and only against inmates placed on extended limits of confinement. Major and minor infractions and their respective punishments for inmates placed on extended limits of confinement shall be defined by the rules of the department, provided that any fine shall not exceed $50 for each infraction deemed to be minor and $100 for each infraction deemed to be major. Such fines shall be deposited in the General Revenue Fund, and a receipt shall be given to the inmate.
(b) When the chief correctional officer determines that a fine would be an appropriate punishment for a violation of the rules of the department, both the determination of guilt and the amount of the fine shall be determined by the disciplinary committee pursuant to the method prescribed in s. 944.28(2)(c).
(c) The department shall develop rules defining the policies and procedures for the administering of such fines.
...making the crime of escape a felony, Fla. Stat. § 944.40,31 but argues that,
although he was convicted of escape, his actual conduct in committing that offense
did not constitute a violation of that statute. Instead, his conduct violated Fla.
Stat. § 945.091(4), which punishes a failure to return.32 In the alternative, he
argues that his escape conviction is void because he was convicted of conduct for
which he was not charged.
31
Fla....
...tence imposed upon any prisoner.
Florida law provides that a person convicted of a “felony of the second degree” is punishable to
“a term of imprisonment not exceeding 15 years.” Fla. Stat. § 775.082(3)(c).
32
Fla. Stat. § 945.091(4) provides:
The willful failure of an inmate to remain within the extended limits of his or her
confinement or to return within the time prescribed to the place of confinement
designated by the department shall be de...
...Even if we accepted his argument, however, the
result would be the same. In essence, as we read Sanchez’s brief, he is contending
25
that his criminal conduct made him eligible only for a violation of Fla. Stat. §
945.091(4), and not Fla. Stat. § 944.40. Conduct that violates § 945.091(4),
however, is deemed a violation of § 944.40. See Fla. Stat. § 945.091(4) (“The
willful failure of an inmate ....
Cited 30 times | Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | 2011 WL 1548948
...one, escape from jail, or category two, escape from custody while being transported
to or from jail.2 It is immediately apparent that this is not the same sort of escape as
was at issue in Chambers. This is also demonstrated by another Florida statute, §
945.091(4), which proscribes the failure to report to a penal institution and is found
2
Thus, we need not address whether category three or four would constitute a
violent felony as they are ordinarily committed....
...f whether an
unenumerated crime poses a serious risk of violence. 127 S. Ct. at 1596.
8
Like the Florida statute at issue in this case, many state statutes define a failure to return
to a halfway house as “escape.” See Fla. Stat. § 945.091(4)....
Cited 4 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 1999 WL 503510
...ng on foot when the car he was driving stalled. About nine o'clock that evening law enforcement officers discovered him under a boat in his mother's back yard. While on work release, a prisoner may be guilty of escape in at least two different ways. Section 945.091(4), Florida Statutes (1997), provides: The willful failure of an inmate to remain within the extended limits of his or her confinement or to return within the time prescribed to the place of confinement designated by the department shall be deemed as an escape from the custody of the department and shall be punishable as prescribed by law. (Emphasis added.) In the amended information at issue here, the state charged (without reference to section 945.091(4), Florida Statutes (1997)), only that: Royce E....
Cited 3 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 1999 WL 790652
...the legislature has provided that the willful failure of an inmate to remain within the extended limits of his/her confinement or to return within the prescribed time to the place of confinement is "an escape from the custody of the department...." § 945.091(4), Fla....
...See also § 775.082(8)(a), Fla. Stat. (1997). In summation, I would affirm the trial judge's designation of Thomas as a prison releasee reoffender and therefore subject to the releasee-reoffender sanction provided by section 775.082(8)(a), Florida Statutes (1997). NOTES [1] Section 945.091, Florida Statutes (1997), is predicated upon the Department of Corrections' belief that an inmate "will honor his or her trust" upon being placed on work release.
Cited 2 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal
...s to run consecutive to the term then being served. Florida Statute 944.40 clearly provides that a prisoner who escapes from confinement in a county jail shall be guilty of a second degree felony. The legislature, by the adoption of Florida Statutes 945.091 and 951.24, has recognized that a prisoner may still be regarded as "confined" even though not physically present in a state or county correctional facility. Florida Statute 945.091 relates to prisons and correctional institutions under the jurisdiction of the Department of Offender Rehabilitation....
...k or to participate in educational or vocational programs, but says nothing of other purposes. Under both statutes, failure to return to the place of confinement within the time prescribed constitutes an escape. Appellant argues that Florida Statute 945.091 is inapplicable to him because it deals with state facilities, not county jails....
...are legally sufficient to withstand a motion to dismiss.” Id. at 1071. “In
determining whether the State sufficiently demonstrated a prima facie case of
escape under section 944.40 in the context of this case, [the Fifth District] also
examine[d] section 945.091, Florida Statutes (2014), which authorizes the DOC to
extend the limits of a prisoner’s confinement.” Id. at 1072. The Fifth District
discussed that the language in section 945.091(1)(b) shows that work release is
merely an extension of the place of confinement, so that a prisoner may still be
regarded as “confined” even though not physically present in a state or county
correctional facility....
...upon the public roads,
or being transported to or from a place of confinement who escapes or
attempts to escape from such confinement commits a felony of the
second degree . . . .
§ 944.40, Fla. Stat. (2014).
Additionally, section 945.091, Florida Statutes, authorizes the DOC to
extend the limits of a prisoner’s confinement:
(1) The department may adopt rules permitting the extension of the
limits of the place of confinement of an inmate as to whom ther...
...limits of his or her confinement or to return within the time prescribed
to the place of confinement designated by the department shall be
deemed as an escape from the custody of the department and shall be
punishable as prescribed by law.
§ 945.091, Fla. Stat. (2014) (emphasis added).
Under section 945.091(4), an inmate on authorized work release can be
guilty of escape under section 944.40 in at least two different ways: (1) by
willfully failing to remain within the extended limits of his or her confinement; or
(2) by willfully failing to return within the time prescribed to the place of
confinement. See Atwell v. State, 739 So. 2d 1166, 1167 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999).
In this case, pursuant to section 945.091, the work release program was an
extension of the limits of Poillot’s confinement, and he was still confined when he
was working as part of a work release program at JS & Son Construction. See §
945.091(1)(b), Fla....
...When Poillot left his place of employment without
permission, he willfully failed to remain within the extended limits of his
-5-
confinement and would be guilty of escape pursuant to one of the manners
described in section 945.091(4)....
...the work release program in order to sustain an escape charge. As explained
earlier, an escape charge requires (1) willfully failing to remain within the
extended limits of his confinement, or (2) willfully failing to return within the time
prescribed to the place of confinement. § 945.091(4), Fla....
...It does not include the failure to return from a period of temporary release. See Atwell v. State, 739 So.2d 1166 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999). Adult prisoners may be “deemed” to have escaped by failing to return to confinement within a prescribed time. It is section 945.091, Florida Statutes (2001), that defines that offense. The juvenile escape statute at issue in this case, section 985.3141, references only section 944.40. It does not incorporate section 945.091, “failure to return” escapes....
...lenge the validity of his 1990 conviction and sentence for escape. Based upon the holding of Munn v. State, 573 So.2d 439 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991), Hilbert argues that where he was in a supervised release status and not confined as that term is defined in section 945.091(l)(d), Florida Statutes (1989), 1 he could not properly be convicted of escape....
...became final; the defendant was sentenced on November 4, 1990, but did not file his motion until March 22, 1995. We further note that the motion does not qualify as an exception to the two year time-bar. See Rule 3.850(b), Fla. R.Crim.P. Affirmed. . Section 945.091(l)(d) states in pertinent part that "[w]hile in a supervised release status, the inmate shall not be considered to be in the care and custody of the department or in confinement, extended or otherwise."
...t. Id. at 463 , 109 S.Ct. at 1910 . Although no particular verbiage is necessary, words such as “shall,” “will,” or “must,” usually indicate explicitly mandatory language. Bowser v. Vose, 968 F.2d 105, 108 (1st Cir.1992). Florida Statute 945.091(l)(a)(l) states in pertinent part: The department is authorized to adopt regulations permitting the extension of the limits of the place of confinement of an inmate as to whom there is reasonable cause to believe that’he will honor his trust ......
Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2015 WL 926773
...e work release option did not have an effect on
the amount of time he had to actually spend in confinement because the work release
2
program does not affect the actual time the inmate remains confined. Section
945.091, Florida Statutes (2013), provides as follows:
(1) The department may adopt rules permitting the extension of the
limits of the place of confinement of an inmate as to whom there is
reasonable cause to believe th...
...Florida law also criminalizes “[t]he willful failure of an inmate to remain within the
extended limits of his or her confinement or to return within the time prescribed to the place of
confinement designated by the department” as a form of “escape.” FLA. STAT. § 945.091(4).
The PSR’s description of McCarthan’s Florida escape conviction provides as follows:
According to court records, on February 14, 1988, the defendant signed out for
work from the Tampa Community Corrections Center with a return time of 1:30
a.m....
...The
escape report was canceled. At 3:30 p.m. on February 15, 1988, the defendant
left the center without permission, and an escape report was again initiated.
From this description, we cannot tell whether McCarthan was convicted under Fla. Stat. § 944.40
or Fla. Stat. § 945.091(4).
18
Case: 12-14989 Date Filed: 01/20/2016 Page: 19 of 42
to those types of cases....
...1 As in Banasik , the evidence in this case is at material variance with the allegations of the Information. For this reason, the defendant’s conviction and sentence are reversed. Reversed. STEVENSON, C.J., and WARNER, J., concur. . The outcome may have been different had the State relied on section 945.091(4), Florida Statutes (2003), which provides: The willful failure of an inmate to remain within the extended limits of his or her confinement or to return within the time prescribed to the place of confinement designated by the departm...
...Comment
This instruction was adopted in 2015 [163 So. 3d 478] and amended in 2018
[257 So. 3d 370], and 2020.
27.1 [ATTEMPTED] ESCAPE
§ 944.40, Fla. Stat.
(including § 945.091(4), Fla....
...om such confinement shall be guilty of a felony.... § 944.40, Fla.Stat. (1987). The offense requires that the defendant be confined. Here, the appellant had been released from state prison into the supervised community release program authorized by section 945.091, Florida Statutes (1987). Section 945.091(l)(d) states that “fwjhile in a supervised release status, the inmate shall not be considered to be in the care and custody of the department or in confinement, extended or otherwise.” It is clear that the program is not a confinement and is more akin to community control....
This Florida statute resource is curated by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., a Jacksonville, Florida personal injury and workers' compensation attorney. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.
