The third penitentiary grade: what it is and what it means for the inmate
For many inmates and their families, the third penitentiary grade is the first real light at the end of the tunnel: the first opportunity to recover some normality before definitive freedom. Being able to leave the centre during the day, work, be with family and sleep in a less institutional environment are possibilities that seemed distant on the day of entry and that the third grade makes accessible again.
The third grade, also called open regime or, popularly, semi-freedom, is the most favourable level of penitentiary classification within the ordinary system and the step prior to parole. It is not complete freedom, but it represents a radical change in the way the sentence is served: it is the phase in which the penitentiary system tests whether the inmate is ready to reintegrate into society.
Its defining feature is that the inmate can leave the centre during the day to carry out work, training or family activities and returns to spend the night. The difference from the previous grades is substantial: the first-grade inmate lives under the maximum level of restriction, the second-grade inmate in the ordinary unit with regimented activities, and the third-grade inmate spends most of the time outside the centre. That openness does not imply an absence of control: the inmate is subject to periodic checks, must comply with a return schedule, may be subject to electronic monitoring and must respect specific prohibitions; their breach may lead to regression to the second grade.
Classification in the third grade is not automatic. It requires several conditions. The temporal one: as a general rule, having served half the sentence, a criterion that admits exceptions and that rises to 80% in offences of terrorism and organised crime. Positive progress in treatment: active participation in the programmes, appropriate behaviour and the assumption of responsibility for the offence. The favourable prognosis of reintegration, prepared by the professionals of the treatment team. And the availability of a viable life plan: a home, a daytime occupation, a support network and minimum financial resources.
The third grade admits several modalities: the full open regime, in which the inmate leaves in the morning and returns at night; dependent units, flats outside the penitentiary precinct managed by collaborating entities; the electronic monitoring of Article 86.4 of the Penitentiary Regulations, which allows the sentence to be served from one's own home with an electronic tag; and the third grade for medical or humanitarian reasons, for inmates with very serious and incurable illnesses.
The procedure begins with the proposal of the Treatment Board, which must be approved by the Central Directorate and, in some cases, by the prison supervision judge. If the Board refuses the request, the inmate can challenge the refusal before that judge.
The lawyer specialising in penitentiary law can be decisive: they help prepare a solid and documented life plan, provide external expert reports that reinforce the prognosis of reintegration and appeal unjustified refusals before the prison supervision judge, especially when they are based on subjective assessments or on the mechanical application of criteria that do not reflect the inmate's real situation.
