Texas Parole Insider Leaks TDCJ and the Board of Pardons and Paroles’ Dirty Laundry

By an Anonymous Parole Attorney, Interviewed by the Institute for Attorney Oversight

No one can deny that violent crime is a growing problem in Texas, particularly in cities like Houston, Austin, and Dallas. Many believe this is simply a sign of the times—a reflection of a society in decline. Some right-leaning Texans might attribute it to illegal immigrants and criminals crossing our southern border. But what if this surge in crime isn’t just happening by chance? What if it is calculated and orchestrated by the very people we have appointed and entrusted to work on our behalf and in our best interests—the citizens of Texas?

Intentional Endangerment by Officials

What if these officials have, for years, been intentionally and deliberately putting every citizen of the state in very real and present danger, expecting and anticipating that many Texans will be victimized, harmed, or even killed to further their political and economic agendas?

The Parole Paradox

When the Institute for Attorney Oversight asked me why the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles often grants parole to inmates with histories of assaultive behavior, involvement in fights, extortion, drug offenses, assaults on staff, cell phone possession, and poor disciplinary records—while denying parole to inmates who have taken every class, gone to work every day, participated in every available program, stayed out of trouble, earned college credits, and made every effort to rehabilitate themselves—my answer was simple: You don’t want to know the truth.

The Insider’s Perspective

Texas parole is my livelihood, and I am very good at what I do. However, if I were to go on the record, my career would end in an instant despite my expertise. Therefore, I urge you not to take my word for it, but to conduct your own due diligence and research. Everything I am about to reveal in this “off-the-record” interview can be definitively proven.

Historical Context and Policy Shifts

First, understand that Texas has always been a “hard-on-crime” state. This began to change about ten years ago when the “stop mass incarceration” movement gained traction, even here. People grew tired of the economic and social drain caused by mass incarceration. Both Democrats and Republicans pushed for criminal justice reform. The federal government, refusing to support Texas’s overinflated prison system any longer, cut its budget and told state officials, “You have a parole system—use it!”

This dealt a crippling blow to a multibillion-dollar industry, and they have been planning a comeback ever since.

The Strategy to Revert Reforms

To shift the tide from criminal justice reform back to “hard on crime,” the Texas prison industry needed to make the state dangerous so its citizens would feel the need for a protector. What better way to do that than to release the state’s most dangerous and violent prisoners into our communities?

The plan is actually working. We hear calls to be tougher on crime in political advertisements all over the airwaves. People are scared, and they have good reason to be. But it isn’t merely a coincidence that violent crime is up.

The Reality of Parole Decisions

For several years now, parole has been denied to prisoners in TDCJ who have made legitimate efforts to change and rehabilitate themselves. At one point, inmates who remained case-free throughout their entire sentences were being denied parole for “manipulating the system.”

The Broken Parole System

Yes, believe it or not, if an inmate stayed out of trouble throughout his or her entire sentence until becoming eligible for parole, that person could be penalized and required to remain in prison for an additional year unless he or she got into some sort of trouble.

What kind of message does that send to prisoners, and what sort of rehabilitation system is that?

The answer is simple: It is a broken and corrupt system that rewards bad behavior and penalizes good behavior.

Impact of COVID-19

The problem has only been exacerbated since COVID-19. Like much of the country, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice suffered a labor shortage after the pandemic from which it has yet to recover. Virtually every unit in TDCJ is short-staffed.

TDCJ simply does not have the manpower to operate the majority of its prisons, and once again, the prisoners who stay out of trouble are paying the price. It is much easier to run a prison filled with model inmates than a prison filled with combatants.

The Response to Staffing Issues

As a result, TDCJ and the Board of Pardons and Paroles have tried to remedy the problem by releasing inmates who are difficult to manage while denying parole to inmates who help keep the system running smoothly.

It is a commonly known fact that, statistically, an inmate coming straight out of G4 or G5 custody—prisoners who, because of disciplinary issues, have been placed in medium or closed custody—has a much better chance of making parole than an inmate graduating from college.

The Real Cost of a Faulty System

TDCJ simply does not want to deal with the bad actors, which means we, the citizens of Texas, get to deal with them. Meanwhile, prisoners who are genuinely trying to change their lives rot away year after year.

In many cases, when prisoners are only months away from discharge—having served their entire sentences day for day—they are granted parole to keep the Parole Board’s numbers up. The prisoner is then set free to serve the final six to nine months of the sentence on the streets.

Misconceptions About Merit-Based Parole

Most people believe the Texas parole system is merit-based, meaning that someone goes to prison and is given the opportunity to be released early on parole if that person stays out of trouble and demonstrates efforts toward rehabilitation.

That is 100 percent false.

Ninety-five percent of all parole decisions have absolutely nothing to do with an inmate’s behavior while in TDCJ. In fact, 90 percent of paroles denied in Texas are denied for one of two reasons: the nature of the offense or prior criminal history—two things a prisoner can never hope to change.

The Injustice of Parole Decisions

Ironically, many murderers and armed robbers with extensive disciplinary records while in prison are released the first time they become eligible for parole, while people with DWI or simple drug cases are denied parole for decades because of the nature of the offense or their criminal history.

This should be illegal. It allows the Parole Board to retry the case without hearing any of the evidence. It is double jeopardy without the benefit of a new trial.

A Call for Change

If families genuinely want change, they need to push to have these two reasons removed from the parole decision-making process.

Sentencing Guidelines and Judicial Awareness

The judge in every Texas case is fully aware of the nature of the offense and the individual’s criminal history before imposing a sentence. Texas has sentencing guidelines in place to ensure that the punishment becomes more severe when the crime is more serious.

For example, a simple robbery committed without a weapon is punishable by a sentence of no less than two years and no more than 20 years. A robbery committed with a deadly weapon, on the other hand, is punishable by a sentence of no less than five years and a maximum of 99 years or life.

Additionally, even if both defendants receive the same five-year sentence, the person convicted of armed robbery will not be eligible for parole until half of the sentence has been completed. The person convicted of simple robbery may become eligible for parole less than a year into the sentence.

The nature of the offense has already been accounted for during sentencing.

Considering Criminal History

Criminal history is also taken into account by the courts before sentencing. For example, if someone is arrested for armed robbery and has a previous conviction for the same offense, the minimum sentence may be increased from five years to 15 years, with a maximum of 99 years.

The judge does, however, have the option to forgo the enhancement. If the judge does so, it is because he or she has weighed the evidence and made a judgment call.

The case should not be retried by the Parole Board during the approximately 20 minutes its members have to decide whether to grant or deny parole.

The Consequences of a Corrupt System

To summarize, yes, it is my opinion that the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and TDCJ have conspired to intentionally make Texas communities much more dangerous.

The violence we see on our streets is a direct consequence of their deliberate and planned efforts to saturate our communities with the most dangerous and violent criminals in the Texas prison system. This strategy aims to make Texans once again support a hard-on-crime stance and push for more prisons, which means more money for the Texas prison industry and everyone involved.

Every time someone is robbed or murdered by a parolee, they move a little closer to achieving their goal.

Reforming the System

In the meantime, prisoners who are genuinely trying to change and rehabilitate themselves are unfortunately rotting away. But the problem will not be solved by building new prisons or pouring money into an already broken system.

Change will come by making TDCJ and the Board of Pardons and Paroles more transparent about their decision-making processes. The entire system needs to be overhauled, and people at the highest levels need to be held accountable.

A merit-based system aimed at rehabilitation—not a toss of a coin—needs to be implemented. Because as of now, there is nothing anyone can do to guarantee parole in Texas.

Call to Action for Change

For those on the inside, the best advice I can give you is to pray.

For loved ones on the outside: Demand change!

Empowering Families to Demand Accountability

As I said in the beginning, don’t take my word for it. Demand to see the numbers.

I am guessing that many of the people reading this article are family members of prisoners. Ask your incarcerated loved ones to help you document specific cases involving individuals with very similar offenses where one person was denied parole and the other was granted parole.

Often, it will be the person with the lengthy disciplinary history who makes parole, while the person who participated in all the available rehabilitation programs is denied.

Take your evidence to the media and demand accountability. That is how you bring about change.

The Institute for Attorney Oversight would like to document and memorialize specific cases supporting the allegations contained in this article so that we can push for change. But we need solid, verifiable proof to do so.

We welcome any current or former TDCJ prisoner, parole representative, or family member of a prisoner to report and share relevant information concerning prisoners and their loved ones. If you want change, this is your opportunity to help make it happen.