Q

My son is incarcerated in a Texas prison. He recently told me that he will be eligible for parole soon. What factors will the parole board look at?

You are wise to be concerned about your son’s potential release. You will want to do what you can to help him prepare for the possibility of parole.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles follows certain guidelines when deciding whether to release a person on parole. That being said, the board members retain the discretion to vote outside the guidelines if the circumstances of a particular case so warrant.

The parole panel’s goal is to make fair decisions to restore human potential and to provide prudent conditions of release. Of course, the parole panel must remain conscious of public safety. To accomplish its goals, the panel considers certain factors when evaluating whether a person should be released. Some of these factors include:

• Number and nature of any previous incarcerations.
• Degree of seriousness of offense.
• Initial sentence length and amount of time already served.
• Offender’s criminal history, including other arrests, probations, and juvenile history.
• Evidence of outside support for releasing parolee.
• On-going and positive behavioral adjustments while incarcerated.
• Present age of the offender.

Contact a Texas parole lawyer for more information.

If you would like more information about parole in Texas, you can contact the experienced father-son team at Topek & Topek, Attorneys at Law. Please feel free to call us anytime at (toll free number). Or you can fill out the secure online form, and we’ll contact you very soon.