Petitioner, who was serving a nine year sentence in state prison, saved the life of a correctional officer by performing the Heimlich maneuver and dislogding food stuck in the officer’s airway. Petitioner requested a sentence reduction for “performing a heroic act in a life-threatening situation” under Penal Code section 2935. The Department denied his request because he was subject to a maximum 20 percent credit limitation under the Three Strikes law. The Court of Appeal affirmed, and the California Supreme Court granted review to determine whether the Director of Corrections’ discretion to reduce a sentence under section 2935 is subject to the Three Strikes law’s limitation on postsentence credits. The Court held that a “reduction of the sentence” for heroic acts under section 2935 is distinct from credits under the Three Strikes law, and thus petitioner was not subject to the 20 percent limitation.