Hello and thank you for visiting my web page. The parole process in Texas is confusing and intimidating to those individuals who are not familiar with how the Parole Board operates and how the parole system functions. Most inmates never place the right evidence or information in front of the Parole Board in time to allow the Parole Board to properly evaluate this information and decide if the inmate should be released to parole. When the Parole Board is spending less than 5 minutes on average per parole application and the parole release rate has fallen to approximately 25%, do you wish to take the chance of being denied parole and receiving a “set-off “ for up to five-years? Or, do you need an attorney to uncover the evidence and prepare the presentation needed to argue why the inmate should be released to parole?

PAROLE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS:

There was a substantial change in how parole was applied beginning September 1, 1996. Prior to September 1, 1996, an inmate who had committed a crime that was not specifically listed as not being eligible for Mandatory Supervision would have to be released to mandatory supervision when the inmate’s actual time served plus good-time credit accumulated equaled the sentence imposed on the inmate. Any crime committed after September 1, 1996 no longer had Mandatory Release available, instead, when actual time served plus good-time credits accumulated equals the sentence, the inmate would be eligible for a Discretionary Mandatory Review. At the Discretionary Mandatory Review, a three-member parole board panel will determine if an inmate should be released to Discretionary Mandatory Supervision. It was not mandatory for the Parole Board to release an inmate as it was prior to September 1, 1996. I have acquired the statistics for mandatory release rates for the parole board in the state of Texas for most of 2006.

An inmate convicted of a crime after September 1, 1996 can, and in most situations will have to serve a substantial portion of the sentence, if not the entire sentence, if the inmate does not convince the Parole Board he/she deserves to be released back to society on parole. In Texas there is no mathematical formula that will allow an inmate to be released short of serving the entire sentence. There is no two-for-one credit or any other mathematical formula that assures the inmate will be released. The Parole Board determines if an inmate should be released to parole on a case by case basis. The inmate in Texas goes into review 6 months prior to the parole appearance date and can be voted by the Parole Board any time during this 6 month window. Prior to an inmate’s file being sent to the Parole Board, information is sent to the inmate’s file by the sentencing court, the District Attorney’s Office that prosecuted the inmate, the arresting agency, as well as the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). The Parole Board does not have the funds or the manpower to investigate each inmate’s application for parole beyond the information sent by the various agencies I have listed above. Instead it is incumbent upon the inmate to discover any beneficial evidence, submit that evidence, and create a compelling argument as to why the Parole Board should release the inmate to parole. If this is not done, the Parole Board will deny the inmate parole and if parole is denied the Parole Board will then determine when they will review the inmate’s file again. The Parole Board may refuse to review (set-off) the inmate’s file for not less than one-year from the date of the last review to no more than five-years. There is no appeal from a Parole Board decision refusing parole and setting off the inmate’s next review to some future date not exceeding five-years.

In Texas the Parole Board, the District Attorney’s Office, and some large cities have victims’ advocates whose job is to contact the victim of any crime, notify the victim the inmate is coming up for parole review, and to assist the victim in presenting evidence to the Parole Board as to why the inmate should not be allowed to receive parole. Most people believe the inmate will appear before the Parole Board and be able to explain to the Parole Board why he or she should be released from prison. Actually, the Parole Board Members rarely see or hear from the inmate. The Parole Board will decide if an inmate should be released based upon evidence presented in an evidentiary package called a parole package. The inmate may present whatever information he or she may be able to accumulate in this parole package. The victim, under Texas law, has an absolute right for a personal appearance before the Parole Boards, and at this parole appearance the victim can argue why the inmate should not be released. Some large cities have set up video studios where the victim may go and produce video testimony arguing against the release of the inmate and this video is then sent to the Parole Board and the Parole Board will utilize this video in determining if they will grant parole to the inmate. The burden is upon the inmate to convince the Parole Board he deserves to be released to parole. The Parole Board’s own internal parole statistics for the year 2006 indicates the Parole Boards are releasing approximately 25% of the inmates who are reviewed for parole.

Inmates, in the state of Texas, are still under the misconception that remaining disciplinary free, submitting a few letters of support and indicating a job offer is available upon release is sufficient to convince the Parole Board the inmate deserves to be released. While this may be sufficient in very rare situations, it is not good enough to convince the Parole Board to release most inmates. The Parole Board commissioned a study of each inmate in custody and the crime or crimes the inmate had committed. Once this study was completed a system of guidelines was set up by this commission and submitted to the Parole Board. The Parole Board was to take into consideration the recommendations of this commission when the Texas Parole Board determined if an inmate should be released to parole. The approval rate by guideline level is not strictly followed by the Parole Board in the State of Texas. The Parole Board has always insisted it will base its recommendation for parole solely upon the discretion of the Board Members, and will not follow any arbitrary system that requires the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to release an inmate.

In Texas the Parole Board is divided into six geographical regions. The unit the inmate is confined in and the unit’s location within the state will determine which Parole Board will review the inmate’s file, read the information contained in the inmate’s parole package, and listen to the argument in his/her behalf by his/her attorney at the parole appearance. The Parole Board is basically a jury made up of three individuals who were appointed by the governor of the state of Texas to sit on the Parole Board. Their job is to determine if an individual should be released from prison. The inmate must convince two-thirds of the members of this jury that he/she deserves to be released from prison and should be allowed to serve out the remainder of the sentence on parole. The Parole Board responds to evidence very much like a jury in any criminal case responds. If there is more positive evidence indicating the inmate has rehabilitated himself/herself, is out of denial, accepted responsibility for the crime he/she has committed, corrected those behavioral problems that caused the criminal activity, and appears to be an individual who, if released to parole, will no longer commit antisocial behavior and that he/she will conform to the rules society has placed on all of its citizens, then that individual would have a reasonable chance of receiving a favorable vote from the three people who make up the jury the State of Texas calls the Parole Board. Like a criminal jury, the Parole Board looks at the evidence presented and contained in the inmate’s parole file and then forms an opinion based upon that evidence. The perception the Parole Board forms of what the inmate is like, and whether or not this person is be worthy of being released to society, affects whether there would be a favorable vote received by the inmate.

Inmates often write me, or family members call me, requesting I represent the inmate by filing a time-cut. If you would click on the link, you will find the procedural requirements for a time-cut. In almost every situation parole is a more viable alternative.

I often receive letters from inmates as well as telephone calls from family members about current rumors that supposedly will affect the inmate population. I have always attempted to address these rumors as rapidly as possible to keep the inmate population informed of the facts and truth regarding these matters.

I send out an inmate information letter several times a year to inmates who have written to me and requested it be sent to them. This letters addresses news that may affect the inmate population, proposed legislation in Texas, or legal opinions from the Texas Courts or the Federal Courts that may impact the lives of inmates.

PAROLE REVOCATION:

When an inmate has received the privilege of parole from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles a new bureaucracy takes over the parolee’s life called the Parole Division. The Parole Division has the duty of overseeing the parolee while the parolee is serving out the remainder of his sentence. In Texas there is no early termination of parole. Should the inmate violate a condition of parole or commit a new crime, the Parole Division may file a warrant for the parolee’s arrest and place the parolee in custody until there is a parole revocation hearing. There is no bond for a parole revocation warrant. In rare situations a parole warrant may be withdrawn and a summons issued for the parolee to attend a revocation hearing.

Should a parolee be arrested on a parole revocation warrant, sometimes called a blue warrant, the parolee will be placed in the county jail where the parolee has been arrested and remain in custody until one of the following has occurred:

If parole is violated and the parolee is revoked, the parolee will be returned to prison and the parolee will be credited only for the actual time he has served on his sentence. The parolee will lose all good-time accumulated as well as any time the parolee has served on parole (street time)and will only be credited for the actual time he/she has previously served in prison as well as the time he/she served incarcerated on the motion to revoke parole. The exception to the foregoing occurs when the parolee is paroled on a non-violent offense and he has not committed any other violent offense and the parolee has served more than one-half of the sentence when the actual time served plus the time he/she has accumulated on parole exceeds one-half of the sentence he/she received.

As you can see, a parole revocation can be very costly to the inmate. It is not usual for a person convicted of a crime in the state of Texas to spend more time on parole and incarcerated than the actual number of years he was originally sentenced to. It is very important for a parolee to convince the Parole Board the parolee either did not commit a crime or if there was a violation that occurred the violation is such, and the parolees conduct is such, it would be wrong to incarcerate the parolee and therefore the parolee should remain on parole. These hearings are extremely important. If the Parole Board is not convinced the parolee should not be returned to prison, the parolee will again become an inmate and either serve out the remaining years of his/her sentence or convince the Parole Board to again release the inmate back to society on parole. Obviously, once revoked on parole, the Parole Board will be less than enthusiastic about granting an inmate parole a second time. Even if the inmate’s chances are likely he/she will be revoked and returned to prison, a parole revocation hearing can be utilized to place positive information or mitigating information within his/her file which will give a better understanding of what occurred when the inmate’s file is next reviewed by the Parole Board and increase the inmate’s chances of receiving parole..