Bill addressing inmates’ earned time passes House

The Colorado House approved a measure giving prisons authority to revoke inmates’ earned time for any reason or if they have committed a violent crime while incarcerated.

The bill now moves to the Senate after passing the House Tuesday on a 57-6 vote.

Under current law, certain earned time gets vested and cannot be revoked. The Republican-sponsored bill is another response to the problems highlighted by the case of Evan Ebel, the sole suspect in the murder of Department of Corrections Director Tom Clements last year.

Ebel received 115 days of earned time, even though he was cited 28 times for offenses that included fighting and assault during his nearly eight years in prison.

The bill would also eliminate the policy of vesting earned time for all inmates.