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James Randall Smith Attorney at Law
1201 South Shepherd Houston, TX 77019 |
FI APPROVAL RATES BY GUIDELINE LEVEL
| Guideline Score | Sep-05 | Oct-05 | Nov-05 | Dec-05 | Jan-06 |
| 1 | 02.17% | 02.50% | 02.50% | 05.36% | 04.75% |
| 2 | 17.23% | 17.45% | 15.59% | 14.56% | 9.34% |
| 3 | 24.84% | 24.59% | 19.50% | 19.13% | 15.09% |
| 4 | 23.59% | 23.60% | 22.22% | 21.17% | 22.44% |
| 5 | 36.55% | 35.47% | 34.46% | 30.57% | 34.57% |
| 6 | 41.50% | 43.10% | 41.47% | 35.64% | 39.53% |
| 7 | 53.33% | 49.35% | 42.94% | 44.59% | 45.83% |
| Total with Guidelines | 29.62% | 29.79% | 27.78% | 25.48% | 26.28% |
| Total without Guidelines | 29.22% | 27.19% | 24.15% | 21.92% | 22.96% |
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 inmate’s file and based solely on the evidence contained in the inmate’s 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 2nd review; (3) 2 x DWI’s for 8 years 2nd 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.