A Butler County woman who pleaded guilty last year to assisting a drive-by shooter has been granted parole, but remains in state prison until completing the early release process.

In May, 23-year-old Mackenzie P. Peters, of Butler was sentenced to 18 to 72 months in prison for her role in a drive-by shooting. When Judge Timothy McCune sentenced her, she was deemed eligible for early release under the Recidivism Risk Reduction Incentive, also known as RRRI.

Six months into her prison sentence, the state's parole board granted her an early release in November under the program. In its report, the parole board cited, among other things, her “positive institutional behavior” and her completion of assigned prison programs. Peters will continue to be held in state prison until she finishes the release process and receives release orders, according to a notice of the board's decision.

Peters pleaded guilty in March to four counts of reckless endangerment and two counts of hindering apprehension for transporting another person — who she knew had an illegal firearm — in a car and helping that person conceal the gun from authorities. Raheem Jamar Robinson is accused by police of being the person Peters assisted in the drive-by shooting on April 5, 2018. He is charged with attempted criminal homicide and other charges.

According to police, Robinson shot at Kirisa Taimuty and several others, including Taimuty's 2-year-old son. Taimuty was pregnant at the time with twins, according to court testimony. Police also allege that a man in Taimuty's group, Jedediah Owens-Vickers, fired back at Peters and Robinson. No one was injured in the exchange of fire.

Both men face their own criminal cases that are ongoing.

At Peters' sentencing, Taimuty objected to prosecutors entering into a plea deal with Peters.

Eligibility for early release is dictated by the state's program signed into law in 2008 by former Gov. Ed Rendell. The law aims to provide eligible, non-violent offenders with a reason to behave well during their prison stay, and to try and prevent them from committing other crimes. Those who complete the program remain under state supervision during the duration of their maximum sentence, and must follow a strict set of rules determined by the parole department.

For Peters, that's six years.

As part of the parole board's decision, Peters must be employed. If she is not working, then she must prove she is trying to find a job. Peters must also submit to random drug tests, and is not allowed to drink any alcohol. In an effort to keep Peters sober, the parole board ordered her to attend a support group, such as narcotics anonymous.

Additionally, she is not allowed to contact Robinson nor any of the victims, and is not allowed to have unsupervised contact with children. Any violation of these rules would lead to her being sent back to prison.

According to a 2016 Department of Corrections report — the most recent data available — there have been 19,517 people admitted to state correctional facilities with RRRI minimum sentence dates. The state reported that the rearrest and overall recidivism rates were consistently lower for inmates in the program, with the five-year overall recidivism rate for RRRI-certified inmates at 45.9 percent, compared to 54.1 percent for regular inmates.

The report went on to say the commonwealth saved about $214.4 million — an estimated $14,028 per inmate — due to reduced prison stays.

Peters' former boyfriend, Keith Jordan Lambing, was sentenced to prison last week for killing Peters' 4-year-old child, Bentley Thomas Miller. In a separate case involving earlier injuries discovered on the boy's body after his death, Peters pleaded guilty to two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and was sentenced to 18 months of probation.