Does a reduction in early release credits from a defendant's prison sentence constitute punishment?

"Lynce teaches only that legislative intent is not generally relevant to whether the amount of a given punishment has increased. Lynce did not question whether the prison sentence was punishment, but only whether a decrease in early release credits increased that punishment. In contrast, intent is very important in determining whether a particular sanction is punishment in the first place. These are distinct questions, and legislative intent is crucial in answering the latter, but not necessarily so in answering the former." (Russell v. Gregoire, supra, 124 F.3d at p. 1086.)