When Will You Make Parole

One of the most common questions we get in felony cases is related to parole.  Those defendants that expect to plea cases—that are looking at a sentence in TDC—want to know when they will become eligible for parole.  Parole relates to early, supervised release from prison, unlike probation which is the suspension of a sentence and placing an individual on community supervision. Probation is administered by the county, parole by state officials with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.  There is no parole from state jail facilities, and therefore those facing non-enhanced state jail felony offenses will not have the concern of parole eligibility dates.

Texas parole eligibility is found in the Texas Government Code.  Because the Texas legislature only meets every other year (odd years), changes to parole laws can and often do occur every two years.  The thing to remember is that parole eligibility is determined by the law in effect at the time the offense was committed.  While the overall parole law is complex, there are some basic concepts that can assist those looking at time in the Texas Department of Corrections.

Some offenses cannot be given parole in Texas any longer.  Anyone convicted of continuous sexual assault of a child, aggravated sexual assault of a child, or trafficking of persons is not eligible for parole in this state.  Further, some repeat sex offenders are eligible for parole only after the day for day time in prison is 35 years.  Lastly, a defendant that is serving life for a capital murder committed before the defendant was 18 must serve 40 years before being parole eligible.  Most cases, however, fall into one of two categories.

A defendant that is charged under what is known as a “3(g)” offense (formerly 42.12 § 3(g), now 42A § 3(g)) must serve 50% of the sentence without consideration of good conduct time or 30 years before they can receive parole.  These offenses are often referred to as aggravated offenses, and include offenses with an affirmative deadly weapon finding, most sex offenses or offenses that involve children, and aggravated versions of other felonies.  Offenses listed in this category are murder, indecency with a child, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, drug offenses in a drug free zone with a prior conviction, drug offenses that use kids in the commission of the offense, sexual assault, injury to a child if it’s a first degree felony, trafficking of persons, compelling prostitution, burglary with intent to sexually assault a child, and engaging in organized criminal activity by leading a criminal street gang (there are some additional specific offenses or elements I will skip here).  Cases involving a drug free zone will have to serve 5 years of calendar time (not including good conduct time) or serve the entire sentence before release. 

In most other cases, the defendant is parole eligible when their good conduct time and calendar time together equal either 25% of the sentence or 15 years, whichever is less.  Thanks to Bill Habern, below is a current chart of expected parole eligibility dates which he provides on his website (reproduced with his permission).  I say most cases because, for example, a defendant will have 3 years added to time before parole eligibility for every 12 months between the date an arrest warrant is issued following indictment and the date of arrest.   In other words, running from a warrant means more time before parole.  There also is still a concept of “mandatory supervision” on the books that may or may not apply in a given case.

Keep in mind that these are eligibility dates, not parole dates. The Parole Board (Board of Pardons and Parole) will meet to vote on the granting of parole.  The review period for parole begins 2-6 months before an inmate’s next scheduled review, and the Board could vote 2 months before the review or months after. 

When clients ask about parole, I generally advise them to go in planning to serve the entire sentence and work hard to make that not be the case.  The Parole Board is looking for proof of rehabilitation and growth as a person, so give it to them.  To the extent that an inmate is given a plan of programs they should complete, work to complete them early and do well in the classes.  Look at self help classes and improve your education as much as possible while in custody, both with classroom education and training in a trade if necessary.  Of course, the obvious advice is to stay out of trouble, watch what inmates want to associate with you, and control your self to avoid problems.  As a final note on eligibility, Parole Board’s tend to look to acceptance of responsibility in granting parole. 

The generic answer in parole eligibility is an aggravated offense is 50% day for day, anything else is 25% with good conduct (which could put eligibility for parole on an 8 year sentence at just over 11 months), but as noted this is far from exact.  Parole is a complex issue, and being eligible does not mean actual release.  The fact is, talking about each individual case is important.