Questions from the Inmates of dorm C at Goodman

[karen]

Hey Guys, My hubby and his buddies evidently were all having a big gab session and decided to develop a list of questions that they were wondering about. They asked hubby to send the questions to me (well, because we write everyday and I am always sending articles and such). I looked at the list and decided that it would be a whole lot easier to ask for ya'lls help as opposed to researching all this stuff out individually. I am typing the list of questions as it is presented to me. (I am going to leave interpretation of questions up to you.) If you know an answer or have a thought regarding any or all of these questions, please post them. I will print the post off and just mail it back to hubby with ya'lls answers. Thanks for making my life easier! I appreciate you folks!

Karen


1. We want to know about early release from parole.
2. What are the new outlines for parole to release an inmate?
3. Is it now mandatory to release an inmate on ther minimum expiration date?
4. How many members are on the committee that oversees the parole boards?
5. Are they building new prisons?
6. What are the new aggervated and 3G guidelines for parole?
7. What are the requirements to be released to a pre-release unit?

[KatyBee]

I'll throw my 2 cents in here about a couple of the questions. Where is Royce when you need him?
#1 I have heard that people can be released from parole early in some cases and I know of a young man who was released from probation but it depends on what the charges are. If it is alcohol related it is a no go.
#3 As far as I know it is not a given that offenders will be released on their minimum exp. date.
#5 Money has been granted to build new prisons but I am not aware of any being built at this time.
#2 There are not any new guidelines that I am aware of --- they are just trying to get the BPP to follow the ones they already have.
#4 I was in Austin at one of the meetings and the best I remember there were about 6 senators and one person from the public sector that were dealing with the parole board issues. They are the ones who get laws changed but actually the Board of Pardons and Parole don't answer to anyone for what they do and don't do. That needs to change because they need to be held accountable for their actions. I hope this helps you ...

[ANTROROMOM]

#3 I know for a fact is is not a given they will be released on thier minimum. They get voted on similar to parole...

[RobinsMan]

OK. I’ll take a stab at it. I trust others will correct any mistakes. Some I just don’t know.

#1 I’ve never hear of early release from parole so someone else will have to answer. There is early release from probation for some offenses but as far as parole I would think that BPP would be bound by the term of the sentence and would have to keep an offender on parole until their max date. Again, I haven't heard of it and really don't know different.
#2 I am not sure I understand this question. If an offender is eligible for parole then it is completely up to BPP as to who gets paroled. They have some guidelines but they are not bound to follow them and it is not unusual for them to not do so. I think we are all in the dark about why any given offender may be paroled before another other than what we see happen and only some of that makes sense. I am not sure about the word “new”. Having guidelines for the BPP may be new to an offender who has been in for a while but they also haven’t changed any that I know of.
#3 If an offender is eligible for release to mandatory supervision and their offense occurred before 9/1/96 the BPP must release them on their PRD. If they are eligible and their offense was on or after 9/1/96 then the BPP can vote to block that release. If they are not eligible then a PRD is not applicable and they must be granted parole to be released early. Most 3g offenders are not elligible for release to mandatory supervision.
#4 Senate Committee on Criminal Justice - according to the Texas Sentate website. I think this session is over. New members next time??
Chairman John Whitmire D-Houston, District 15
Vice Chair Kel Seliger R-Amarillo, Disctrict 31
Members
John Carona R-Dallas, District 16
Bob Deuell R-Greenville, District 2
Rodney Ellis D-Houston, District 13
Glenn Hegar R-Katy, District 18
Juan “chuey” Hunojosa D-Mission, District 20
#5 Same as Katy’s answer. Money was allocated this past session but no official announcement that I have heard. Another member posted not long ago that there was going to be a new prison in Montgomery County but I have not been able to confirm that.
#6 This is really is the same question as #2, I think, except asking specifically for agg and 3g. All that changes is when an offender is eligible for parole and when that occurs depends on when the offense was committed. If elligibility is the question then that's a fairly long answer to cover all of the possibilities and the PED should answer that anyway.
#7 I do not know. It seems that I have heard it was simply that an inmate was “close to their release date” but what does that mean? Some have gone to pre-release units and stayed there for a long time.

You might just print out the BPP publication Parole in Texas (two sided!!) and send it in to them. It might help. Here’s the link.

http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/bpp/publications/PIT_eng.pdf

[RobinsMan]

Looks like BP calls the current parole guidelines "new" parole guidelines so if that was deliberately what was meant by #2 then that may take a little space. It includes the risk assessment instrument and the offense severity list (which is 65 pages long) in combination to come up with a score in their risk level table. Risk assessment instrument can fit in a post but not the offense severity list. However, it is available online. (Link is below) I will have to come back with the risk assessment later on. I need to get to work. (yes, really) Maybe someone else can post it first. Keep in mind that many, including me, have become more than a little negative about the BPP using this guideline at all except maybe as a printed copy when they go to take a crap.

Offense severity list
http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/bpp/new_...APR%202007.doc


Oh, Karen, you might print this article from Gristforbreakfast and send it to them. I think it provides a real good idea about the BPP attitude towards any governance over their actions (guidelines) and about pre-parole (pre-release) facilities, as well.

http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.co...ent-texas.html

[Crone]

you'll find a lot of these questions answered in the complaint in the lawsuit presently pending against the BPP at www.fixtexasparole.com.

[karen]

Thank you everyone for all the responses. I went and saw hubby today and he was asking me what I found out. I am going to give this a couple of more days for any other responses, and then I'll print it off and send it to the guys. They hear so many rumors, etc. that they just don't know what to believe sometimes. I know they are appreciative of each and everyone of you.
Karen

[QueenBizzle]

My anything can happen in TDCJ!!! Hope that more come along to help you out.

[Sefton]

They hear so many rumors, etc. that they just don't know what to believe sometimes.

Karen - I can relate to that. Rumors are rampant inside.
The "Christmas Kickout" was a common one. A lot of it is either hearsay or just someone starting a rumor out of boredom; like shakedown dates or fabricated new policies/rules. Some were just ludicrous, and some guys would fall for it.
Anyway, so far the answers you got look pretty good.