For the purposes of §§ 16-93-602 — 16-93-604, inmates are to be classified as follows:
(1) A first offender is an inmate convicted of one (1) or more felonies but who has not been incarcerated in some correctional institution in the United States, whether local, state, or federal, for a crime which was a felony under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the offender was incarcerated, prior to being sentenced to a correctional institution in this state for the offense or offenses for which he or she is being classified;
(2) A second offender is a inmate convicted of two (2) or more felonies who has been incarcerated one (1) time in some correctional institution in the United States, whether local, state, or federal, for a crime which was a felony under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the offender was incarcerated, prior to being sentenced to a correctional institution in this state for the offense or offenses for which he or she is being classified;
(3) A third offender is an inmate convicted of three (3) or more felonies who has been incarcerated two (2) times in some correctional institution in the United States, whether local, state, or federal, for a crime which was a felony under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the offender was incarcerated, prior to being sentenced to a correctional institution in this state for the offense or offenses for which he or she is being classified; and
(4) A fourth offender is an inmate convicted of four (4) or more felonies who has been incarcerated three (3) or more times in some correctional institution in the United States, whether local, state, or federal, for a crime which was a felony under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the offender was incarcerated, prior to being sentenced to a correctional institution in this state for the offense or offenses for which he or she is being classified.