Prisoner rights at the stage of serving a sentence are guaranteed by several institutions of the Criminal Code of Georgia: the replacement of the unserved part of the sentence with a lighter penalty, release from further serving due to illness or old age, and the review of life imprisonment. These norms give the convicted person real options — based on conduct, health and age, to convert the sentence to a lighter form or be released altogether.
Replacement of the unserved part
For a person convicted of a less grave crime by imprisonment, the local council of the Special Penitentiary Service may, taking into account his or her conduct during serving, replace the unserved part with a lighter penalty — and the person may also be fully or partially released from serving an additional penalty, except confiscation of property. The precondition is that at least one third of the term has actually been served. A person sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment — other than in a special-risk facility — may, with consent, have the unserved part replaced by community service or house arrest. In that case the following must actually have been served: for a less grave crime — at least one third of the term; for a grave crime — at least one half; for an especially grave crime — at least two thirds; after revoked parole — two thirds. The actually served term of imprisonment must not be less than three months. After replacement, the conduct of the convicted person is controlled by the Probation Bureau.
Recalculation and the rules of revocation
The recalculation of the replaced sentence is precisely defined: five hours of community service count as one day of imprisonment, and one day of house arrest as one day of imprisonment. If the convicted person deliberately evaded the work or the obligations of house arrest, the court, on the proposal of the Bureau, revokes the replaced penalty and orders the unserved part of imprisonment to be served; upon commission of a negligent crime, the court decides on revocation or maintenance; upon an intentional crime, the replaced penalty is revoked and a new sentence is imposed. The court's decision may be appealed in the manner established by legislation.