parole

How does an inmate’s medical condition affect his parole review in Texas?

January 27, 2023 | By Pullan & Young

Sometimes my clients get sick while serving their Texas felony prison sentences. Sometimes they are already sick and their condition worsens. Obviously, if we are fighting to get a client released to parole, his health can be an important factor for the Board to consider. Below I try to set out common issues that arise when advocating for a sick or physically compromised client.

TDCJ Medically Recommended Intensive Supervision

If a client is terminally ill, he may be eligible for special review and release to parole under TDCJ’s “MRIS” program (Medically Recommended Intensive Supervision). The requirements are strict. As a threshold issue, you have to be terminally ill, over the age of 65, mentally ill, developmentally disabled, require long term intensive medical care, have an organic brain syndrome, or be in a persistent vegetative state. Additionally, only inmates convicted of non-violent and non-sexually assaultive offenses can normally qualify (except that if an inmate is in a vegetative state he may be released under MRIS even if he was convicted of a sexual assault offense).

Texas Parole FAQ

January 20, 2023 | By Pullan & Young

I’ve represented clients in parole review all over Texas. As the vote date approaches, my clients and their family often have questions, mostly about what the Parole Board is up to and when they will vote. I’ve put together some general answers to the most common questions raised by my clients and their families. As always, this isn’t legal advice. Find a good parole lawyer to get specific advice for your loved one’s case.

1. What does it mean to be in parole review?

In Texas, inmates go into parole review 6 months before their first parole review date or 4 months before any subsequent parole review date. Theoretically, a Texas Parole Board can vote to release or deny release to an inmate any time during that 6 or 4-month review period. But that almost never happens. Most Boards will vote on an inmate within a few weeks of the parole review date. So what is the point of having an inmate in parole review status for so long? I think the most helpful way to understand the parole review period is from an administrative perspective. Having an inmate in “parole review” means that TDCJ is on the clock for getting the file prepared for the Board to vote and getting the inmate interview completed. It also provides specific timelines for parole attorneys to prepare and submit parole packets and support materials to the board.

Constitutional and Statutory Rights for release on Discretionary Mandatory Supervision in Texas

January 9, 2020 | By Pullan & Young

I’m writing a series of blog posts on what constitutional rights you have, or don’t have, during the parole review process.

In my first article, I explained why inmates have no constitutional protection during normal parole review.

In this post, I focus on another type of statute-based parole review called discretionary mandatory release, which is controlled by Texas Government Code Section 508.149. Part (a) of the statute explains which inmates are eligible for mandatory release. See my post here for more information on eligibility. Part (b) provides a framework for parole boards to use when deciding if an inmate should be released to mandatory supervision.

Inside the belly of the beast: Your Constitutional Rights during Texas Parole Review

December 22, 2019 | By Pullan & Young

This is the first of a series of blogs I intend to right about what rights, if any, you get during various phases of the parole process.

This particular article focus on an inmate’s first contact with the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole – the initial parole review.

The Rights You Lose Along the Way

Texas Discretionary Mandatory Supervision and “Short way” explained

December 14, 2019 | By Pullan & Young

I get calls on a regular basis from families asking questions about their loved one’s “short way” release date. The family doesn’t really know what the guy is talking about, and so they ring me up. Here’s a breakdown of what the inmate means, and the legal realities all inmates face as they work to get out of prison as quickly as possible.

“Short way” used to be slang for “mandatory supervision.” Prior to 1996, the Government Code authorized the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole to release certain categories of inmates automatically when their calendar time and good conduct time equalled the full term of the prison sentence. Inmates and their families could rely on the “short way” release date and plan accordingly.

But the law changed after 1996 as the Texas Legislature became uncomfortable with automatic release. For inmates incarcerated after the new law went into effect, release was no longer “mandatory” when their good time and calendar time equalled their sentence. Instead, the parole board could deny release if:

Texas Parole Risk Assessment: What’s your number?

November 6, 2019 | By Pullan & Young

Like many States, Texas relies on a risk assessment analysis when deciding to release a particular inmate to parole. Although the State has broadly described the concepts and factors it relies on in creating its Risk Assessment Number, it keeps the actual methodologies used in a “Black Box” that leaves inmates, their families, and parole lawyers in the dark about how a potential parolee actually gets assessed and categorized.

Here’s a basic overview of the process:

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles (BPP) creates its particular risk assessment by relying on two primary groups of personal data:

Texas Parole: the long bureaucratic road to release

October 9, 2019 | By Pullan & Young

The Texas parole system can be extremely frustrating, even for those fortunate inmates who get voted for release on their first review. It’s best for those going into the TDCJ system and their families to be aware of the potential delays and pitfalls in the parole system so that they can be proactive. I’ve prepared some highlights of the bureaucratic process you’ll have to negotiate. Please understand this is a general summary. Every case has specific facts that will need to be addressed by the inmate’s parole lawyer.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Parole is administratively distinct from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (and this matters).

If you go to the Parole Board (BPP) website, you’ll see a url that includes “TDCJ.” So you’d assume that the BPP is just another department inside the criminal justice system in Texas. But in fact the BPP operates separately.

Texas House Bill 1271: the hope for good time credits for 3g offenses

September 16, 2019 | By Pullan & Young

Inmates across Texas having been asking their parole lawyers about Texas House Bill 1271. During the last legislative session a bill was introduced that would modify Texas Government Code Section 498 and greatly broaden the application of good conduct time to parole eligibility for certain inmates convicted of serious crimes.

Specifically, HB 1271 would have required TDCJ to apply good time credits to inmates convicted of 3(g) offenses –

Murder;

Texas Parole FI -1 (further investigation) time table update

June 11, 2019 | By Pullan & Young

As of June 2019, TDCJ inmate release upon granting of parole has slowed down significantly, according to conversations I have had with both clients and TDCJ parole personnel.

The slow down appears to be due primarily to TDCJ staff shortages. I’m hoping the bottleneck is not permanent, but my sources seem skeptical that the problem will be alleviated any time soon.

For now, I’m hearing the projected time tables are as follows:

TDCJ good time credits explained

November 16, 2018 | By Pullan & Young

Defendants contemplating a plea bargain deal for prison time need to know how much time they will actually serve before being eligible for parole. One key component to understanding your parole eligibility calculation is the “good time credits” awarded by TDCJ. When doing ball park eligibility calculations, family members sometimes rely on the general rule of thumb that if the inmate doesn’t get in trouble, he gets one day of good time credit for each “calendar” day he serves (Inmates normally refer to calendar as “flat time”).

But the actual rules are more complicated. Although you certainly don’t need to understand every nuance in the law, a general grasp of what good time you can earn (and what can be taken away) is important when planning for a post-prison future.

The first thing to know is that the statutory framework for awarding good time is hard to understand if you don’t already have knowledge of how TDCJ classification works. For anyone sentenced on or after September 1, 1987 (referred to awkwardly in the system as “70th Legislature offenders”) you earn a certain amount of days of good conduct time per 30 days calendar time served. The specific number of days you can earn depends on your classification. For example, if you’re designated as “Line CLass I” you can earn a maximum of 20 days per 30-day period. In addition, the statue authorizes TDCJ to award a “Line Class 1” inmate 15 days of work time credit. So, if you start out classified as Line Class 1, get a job and keep it, and don’t get in administrative trouble, you’ll bet cruising along earning 65 days total credit for each 30-day period – 30 days flat time, 20 days good time, and 15 days work time.