TEXAS BOARD OF PARDONS AND PAROLES David Gutiérrez Presiding Officer
MISSION STATEMENT To perform its duties as imposed by Article IV, Section 11, of the Texas Constitution and: Decide which prisoners to release on parole or discretionary mandatory supervision; Decide conditions of parole and mandatory supervision; Decide revocation of parole and mandatory supervision; and Recommend clemency matters to the Governor. Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles 2
GOVERNOR PRESIDING OFFICER AMARILLO ANGLETON AUSTIN GATESVILLE HUNTSVILLE PALESTINE SAN ANTONIO Hearings 1 Board Member and 2 Parole Commissioners in each of the 7 Board Offices IPOs BPP TOTAL FULL TIME EQUIVALENTS General Counsel & Executive Clemency Board & Administrative Staff TOTAL # OF FTEs 169 427 15 49 660 Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles 3
PAROLE PANELS Members act in panels composed of three persons in matters of release on parole, release to mandatory supervision, revocation actions, and determining conditions of supervision. A majority vote (two consenting votes) determines the outcome. An exception to the threemember panel is cases requiring a vote by Board Members only (i.e., SB 45 cases or extraordinary votes). Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles 4
FACTORS CONSIDERED WHEN VOTING Seriousness of offense/nature of offense Criminal history Length of time served/sentence length Adjustment during previous period of supervision Number of incarcerations/institutional adjustment Alcohol and/or drug involvement Letters of support and/or protest Other arrests Age Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles 5
VOTING OPTIONS Parole panel members do not just vote yes or no. They have a wide range of voting options: FI-1: FI-2: FI-3R: FI-4R FI-5: FI-6: FI-6R: Release when eligible. Release on a specified month/year. Transfer to a TDCJ rehabilitation program, then release to parole only after program completion and no earlier than 3 months from a specified date. Such TDCJ program may include either CHANGES/Lifeskills, Voyager, Segovia Pre-Release Center (Segovia PRC), or any other approved tier program. Transfer to a TDCJ rehabilitation program. Release to parole only after program completion and not earlier than four months from specified date. Such TDCJ program shall be the Sex Offender Education Program (SOEP). Release upon completion of the In-Prison Therapeutic Community Substance Abuse Prevention Program. Transfer to a DWI Program, then release to an alcohol abuse continuum of care treatment program. Transfer to a TDCJ rehabilitation program, then release to parole only after program completion and no earlier than 6 months from a specified date. Such TDCJ program may include the Pre-Release Therapeutic Community (PRTC), Pre-Release Substance Abuse Program (PRSAP), or In-Prison Therapeutic Community Program (IPTC), or any other approved tier program. FI-7R: FI-9R Transfer to the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI) program, then release to parole only after program completion and no earlier than 7 months from a specified date. Transfer to a TDCJ rehabilitation program. Release to parole only after program completion and not earlier than nine months from specified date. Such TDCJ program shall be the Sex Offender Treatment Program (SOTP-9) FI-18R: Transfer to a TDCJ rehabilitation program, then release to parole only after program completion and no earlier than 18 months from a specified date. Such TDCJ program shall be either the Sex Offender Treatment Program (SOTP-18), or the InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI). NR: SA: Do not release, but set the next parole review month/year. Require the offender to serve all his sentence. Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles 6
PAROLE APPROVAL RATES 15-YEAR TREND 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 25.38% 26.26% 31.05% 34.15% 0% FY 2001 FY 2006 FY 2011 FY 2016 Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles 7
PAROLE CONSIDERATIONS FY 2007 FY 2016 40.0% 36.8% 36.2% 35.6% 35.1% 34.2% 30.0% 29.8% 30.7% 30.3% 31.0% 31.1% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 Cases Considered 74,488 74,895 76,607 78,575 78,391 80,644 77,619 77,300 82,340 80,661 FI Votes 22,209 23,025 23,182 24,368 24,342 29,695 28,077 27,500 28,925 27,549 Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles 8
DISCRETIONARY MANDATORY REVIEWS FY 2007 FY 2016 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 52.05% 49.97% 48.28% 49.68% 48.62% 57.79% 53.54% 50.87% 47.88% 45.63% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 Cases Considered 18,131 17,811 18,554 18,938 20,886 20,893 17,785 17,968 19,017 20,471 Releases 9,437 8,900 8,957 9,409 10,155 12,075 9,522 9,141 9,106 9,341 Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles 9
HEARINGS DECISIONS WITH REVOCATION TYPE FY 2007 FY 2016 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 Revocations 10,251 7,287 7,471 6,929 6,381 5,935 5,850 6,455 5,501 5,906 Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles 10
TEXAS BOARD OF PARDONS AND PAROLES P.O. Box 13401, Capitol Station Austin, TX 78711 Website: http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/bpp/ Parole Review Status Line: 844-512-0461 Email: bpp-pio@tdcj.texas.gov Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles 11