Thank you for writing to me. This letter is written in an effort to continue to keep inmates updated on the current issues regarding parole and parole related matters, as well as to address some of the repetitive questions asked in the letters I receive from the inmate population. This letter is not sent out on a monthly basis, but at the time that information becomes available which I feel is newsworthy and of importance to you. The expenses incurred by me in sending you this information is only cost effective by my being hired to represent inmates. If someone you know desires to be placed on my mailing list, please inform them to write to me requesting same. Also, presently my web page is under construction, but will be available very soon and this letter will be available on-line at that point, so please have your family and/or loved one's go to my web page at www.TexasParole.com.

PAROLE BOARDS AND THEIR MEMBERS:

SAN ANTONIO BOARD
Jose Aliseda
Vacant as of the date of this letter
Charles Speier

PAROLE APPROVAL RATES:
(Month to month voting percentage of the 6 Boards combined.)

The overall approval rate continues to move toward a 25% release rate. The nonviolent no sex offense category appears to average around a 30% release rate. In reviewing the statistics it appears the parole board feels comfortable with these release rates at this time even though the prison is becoming more crowed and the legislature has budgeted for 8,000 beds in county jails.

APPROVED FOR PAROLE BY FI TYPE:

FI APPROVAL RATES BY GUIDELINE LEVEL

As you can see it is not mandatory for the Parole Board to follow the guidelines. They continue to vote parole based upon their discretion, not on some numerical equation. Release to parole based upon a certain percentage of time served has not occurred since the Texas Legislature passed the change in law back on September 1, 1996 which did away with mandatory release. There is no longer such a thing. The Board Members consider the evidence contained within an inmates file and based solely on the evidence contained in the inmates file, the fate of an inmate in TDCJ-ID is determined. The inmate population must get all evidence to be considered into their file in time for the Parole Board Members to review the file for parole. If the evidence is not in the file, the Parole Board will base their decision on what is contained in the file at the time of the vote, which is usually the judgment and sentence from the court, a synopsis of the police report, a letter from the district attorney explaining why the inmate should not be released and a letter from any victim requesting the Parole Board to deny the inmate release to parole. The negative image contained within inmates files is part of the reason the release rates are so low and why the Parole Board votes the way they do.

One of the first things that an inmate or his/her family should know is that all documentation contained within an inmate's file is negative. Part of what I do is present a person to the Board, instead of just another TDCJ number that represents one more convicted felon(s) who is eligible for parole. The Parole Board generally spends approximately 2 - 3 minutes deciding whether to release an inmate to parole or not. When I represent an inmate they do spend considerably more time than the average 2-3 minutes most inmates who are not represented receive. I must get the Board's attention, hold their attention and present a human being to them, who although convicted of a crime or crimes is a good candidate for release to parole and why.

Documenting every aspect of my client's life, his/her accomplishments, his/her rehabilitation, as well as many other factors, along with the credibility I have built with the Board Members, are some of the reasons I have been able to maintain an 80% + release rate for my clients over the many years I have represented inmates before the Board. Although some of my parole assistance files do not pose extraordinary challenges, the greater portion of them are very challenging and require me and my staff to go the extra mile to accomplish the mutual objective of the inmate's receiving the privilege of release to parole. A few examples of some of my release successes in 2005 and 2006 are: (1) Aggravated assault & Manslaughter first review - FI-6; (2) 35 years on each, Possession of Cocaine & Possession of Heroin & Burglary of Building & parole violator FI-1 2^nd review; (3) 2 x DWI's for 8 years 2^nd review - FI-1; (4) Aggravated Sexual Assault of Child first review, 10 years - FI-1; (5) Aggravated Assault 6 years, Burglary Building 6 years, Burglary of Habitation 6 years,1st review - FI-1; (6) theft > $200,000.00, 10 years, first review - FI-1. Past victories do not guarantee future successes. Hard work on my part and my clients part do affect the parole board's vote.

WHY SHOULD AN INMATE CONSIDER HIRING AN ATTORNEY FOR PAROLE ASSISTANCE:

In the 11-years I have been representing inmates before the Parole Board, I have discovered that inmates and their families creating their own parole packages do not include evidence which could convince the Parole Board why they should release a particular individual from prison; or, they totally disregard the evidence and insist on arguing a position which is not backed up by facts.

The Parole Board does not retry an inmate's case. That is not to say that certain evidence could show the inmate was not an active participant of the crime, or the crime was not as heinous as it appears to be. Most individuals are not familiar with the Parole Board and attempt to make the evidence fit their theory of the case instead of allowing the evidence to lead them to a conclusion. If an inmate or the family members are not capable of objectively following the evidence to its logical conclusion and arguing from that evidence, then I believe representation by an attorney would be preferable.

Another problem with an inmate representing himself/herself or a family member representing an inmate, is the inability of the inmate or the family member to openly communicate and truthfully discuss the negative aspects of the inmate's file. On many occasions I have seen the inmate or his/her family members argue that the inmate was not an active participant in the crime, but instead was merely an observer who happened to be caught at the scene. Quite often, this can fly in the face of numerous witness statements, police reports, or trial testimony. When this occurs, the inmate or his/her family members lose all credibility, and the Parole Board generally denies parole. Obviously, a good parole attorney, who has maintained his/her credibility with the Parole Board will have an advantage when presenting documented information and/or arguing in the inmate's behalf to the Board. A good attorney will research every aspect of the case, the client's life, both in and out of prison, and based upon the evidence he/she has accumulated be able to present a strong, persuasive argument as to why his/her client should be released to parole. If he/she has followed the trail of evidence and has tailored his/her argument to conform to the evidence as to why the inmate should to be released to parole, the chances of the inmate receiving a favorable vote are greatly increased because of the attorney's credibility with the Parole Board Members and Commissioners.

Most family members do not understand that the Parole Board is made up of human beings and they, like anyone else, perceive certain information in a certain way. The easiest way to explain this is to understand the following: the Parole Board is the only entity available to release an inmate to parole. If the board believes an inmate has a particular problem and that particular problem has not been addressed, there is a strong probability the Parole Board will not release the inmate to parole. I often recommend that inmates take certain courses or follow certain courses of action even though there may not be any material facts contained within the file to cause the Parole Board to believe these actions are necessary. The cumulative evidence in an inmate's file might cause the Board to perceive the inmate has a need for a particular course of rehabilitation. For example, an inmate might need to participate in drug treatment/counseling, although he/she has never been arrested for any drug offense or even used drugs.

I also recommend that an attorney be hired if the family is incapable of writing a short story about the inmate which will grab the Parole Board Members' attention and cause them to want to read further about the inmate's life and aspirations. On average, the Parole Board votes on a file in less than four minutes. It is important to grab the Parole Board Members attention and cause them to desire to read further into the file. When I represent an inmate, I submit a parole assistance package to the Parole Board, they read it and then I am almost always granted about 30 to 45 minutes of the first voting member's time to argue in my client's behalf.

An inmate and his/her family should expect an attorney to diligently investigate every fact situation and follow the facts to a logical conclusion. The attorney should gather all the necessary facts, organize and design a parole package, and submit same to the Parole Board in a timely manner. Doing so will help the Parole Board understand the inmate's prior life, present prison life, the overall situation, and future goals. The package should be a means by which the inmate can communicate to the Parole Board. The attorney should request an appearance before the first voting board member. The inmate and his family should receive a copy of the parole package submitted to the parole panel. Finally, the inmate should be informed of the decision by the Parole Board whether it is favorable or not. If an attorney, or someone assisting the family, is not willing to do these things, then I would strongly recommend seeking assistance elsewhere.

CURRENT RUMOR:

There is a rumor presently circulating among the inmates regarding a statement made by Ray Hill on Pacifica Radio's Prison Show regarding the elimination of the presence of attorneys at the Parole Board Appearance. Mr. Hill was contacted and informed that an attorney who does volume representation of inmates appeared at one of the parole boards with numerous inmate files and took up a considerable part of the Parole Board Members day. This greatly upset the Board and they requested clarification of this matter. The boards were informed that they do not have to allow any person to appear before them with the exception of the victim or victim's family and that it is at the discretion of the board member whether or not to allow an appearance by an attorney or any person to argue the inmates side of the case. There is not blanket denial of any attorneys request to appear and present clients cases to the parole board. Each board and board member may determine this on a case by case basis. This has always been the rule of the parole board and to-date I have only been denied an appearance in very rare instances. I have spoken to Ray personally regarding this rumor and he informed me he would attempt to correct it at the time of his next radio broadcast and he requested I include his remarks in this newsletter.

ATTORNEY PRESENTATION:

Although I do not have any facts about the tasks performed by other attorneys representing inmates, I can explain to you some of the tasks I perform which may be part of why my fees are sometimes higher than other attorneys. I conduct a thorough investigation of the inmate's life and gather any and all documented facts, among other things. Initially, a questionnaire exceeding 100 questions is sent out to each client, the trial attorney is contacted if possible, court documents are gathered, medical records and psychological reports are gathered, TDCJ records such as minute sheets, time sheets, disciplinary records, etc. are gathered, trial transcripts are purchased, appellate briefs and any and all other such documentation is gathered, read and analyzed. Upon completion of the investigative stage, a personalized package for each client is then prepared and submitted to the Board along with a request to appear before the Board to argue in my client's behalf. Also, when I am hired well in advance, I am able to work with the inmate to assist him/her in preparing himself/herself to be as favorably viewed as possible. As you can see, there is an extraordinary amount of work involved to meet the standards and requirements I have set for myself in thoroughly representing an inmate and it is a very time consuming and work intensive job. Time is always of the essence and the more time I have to perform the tasks at hand by being hired well in advance of the inmate's eligibility date, the better for my client. Every inmate is eventually going to be reviewed by the Board. If I am hired well in advance of an inmate's eligibility date, I will have the needed time frame within which to help prepare an inmate to be a good candidate for release to parole, to gather the needed information and prepare the written documentation to be submitted to the Board, and to argue in behalf of my client before the Board if granted an appearance.

Time payment plan: If you decide to hire me and do so well in advance of your eligibility date, I can design a time payment plan for your family or loved ones, but I must be paid in full before I submit the parole package or request an appearance before the Parole Board to argue for an inmate's release to parole. The time payment plan has been very helpful to many of my clients who have limited financial resources and thereby allowed them to hire me without causing them financial distress because they have hired me many months or even years in advance. If you wait until the last minute, the entire fee is going to be due immediately.

WHO CAN REPRESENT INMATES:

Please beware that there are some individuals who are preying upon inmates and their families offering parole assistance who are not licensed attorneys. For your protection as well as your family members or loved one(s) please be informed, if you are considering hiring anyone other than a licensed attorney to assist you, take heed that the law requires under Govt. Code 508.083 (a) A person who represents inmates for compensation must: (1) be a licensed attorney licensed in this state; and (2) register with the division.

Please do not send any of your documentation to me prior to retaining me. On numerous occasions, inmates who have not retained my services have sent documentation to me requesting that I review it. I am sorry to say that I cannot perform that type of free service. I am contractually obligated to spend my time working on the files of paying clients. Also, I cannot and will not be responsible for such documentation, nor can I afford to pay postage cost to return it, therefore it must be destroyed. So please, unless I am your retained attorney, do not send any of your documentation to this office.

Again, thank you for writing to me. I hope I have answered some of your questions and also updated you on some of the current parole related issues. Whatever your decision may be, I wish you the very best of luck. Remember, now is the time to prepare for your possible release to parole.