How many offenders are on parole in texas

The Board of Pardons and Paroles decides which eligible offenders to release on parole or discretionary mandatory supervision, and under what conditions.

The Board uses research-based Parole Guidelines to assess each offender's likelihood for a successful parole against the risk to society. The Board also decides whether to revoke parole if conditions are not met, using a graduated sanctions approach. Depending on the seriousness of the violation, the Board may continue parole, impose additional conditions, place the offender in an Intermediate Sanction Facility, or use other alternatives to revoking parole and sending the offender back to prison.

Additionally, the Board recommends clemency matters, including pardons, to the Governor. Also see these Texas graphs:. In the U. The U. We also have a version of this graph focusing on the incarceration of women.

See also our detailed graphs about Whites and Blacks in Texas prisons and jails. We gave Texas a failing grade in September for its response to the coronavirus in prisons, noting that:. For more detail, see our report States of Emergency. Or check out these other resources:. Quick action could slow the spread of the viral pandemic in prisons and jails and in society as a whole. Not near you? Invite us to your city, college or organization. Although parole applicants have already been sentenced and punished for their offense by incarceration, their offense is the leading factor in release decisions — effectively turning parole reviews into re-sentencing exercises.

Shifting toward a system of providing rehabilitative services prior to parole review and using intensive supervision, if needed, for those who are aging or medically vulnerable will have the twofold effect of saving taxpayer dollars and improving public safety. Allow for earlier access to effective pre-release programs, such as substance use treatment and cognitive intervention. With little access to programs during incarceration, the years between parole reviews are wasted opportunities to rehabilitate individuals.

Improving opportunities for substance use treatment and other interventions are critical to parole release and successful reentry into the community.

Furthermore, ineffective or unnecessary pre-release programs, which keep individuals needlessly incarcerated, should be identified for elimination. Allow for earlier parole consideration for people serving lengthy sentences. Expand access to medical release. Medical parole has overly stringent qualifications and limited approval rates, which shut out many individuals with serious medical conditions who do not present a public safety risk.

This exacerbates taxpayer spending on correctional managed health care.