Announcing an Important New Resource for Incarcerated Texans and Their Families
Dear Friends,
We are proud to share with you an important new resource for people incarcerated in Texas and their families: Texas Defender Service’s Parole Website. The site is the first-ever clearinghouse of information for how people can advocate for themselves or their loved ones in the Texas parole review process.
Incarcerated people and those who love them deserve a voice in whether they will be granted a second chance. However, the Texas parole system, as it is set up today, doesn’t prioritize giving people or their families a meaningful opportunity to share their stories, explain their trajectory of growth, or present their reentry plan.
Our website is a small first step in empowering people to advocate for themselves before the parole board. If you are supporting a loved one in their journey seeking parole, our website is here to help you understand your options and prepare for the path ahead.
Texas Defender Service’s Parole Website includes:
- eight videos that provide an overview of the parole process and step-by-step information about how it works, including firsthand testimony from Mandi Zapata, the Director of Leadership Development at Lioness Justice Impacted Women’s Alliance and a devoted mother of two who experienced a challenging seven-year period of incarceration;
- a detailed guide called How to Write Parole Packets written by Jorge Renaud, a poet, activist, and former reporter who spent 26 years in Texas prisons;
- a Parole Process Planning Tool, or online form, that asks specific questions about a person’s case and gives them a personalized plan to help them prepare for their parole review process;
- an online form to apply for pro bono parole assistance from Texas Defender Service for those who feel that they would benefit from legal representation; and
- a step-by-step guide that includes helpful documents, such as a glossary and a reentry planning worksheet.
Half of the Texas prison population is currently eligible for parole, meaning they can serve the remainder of their sentence at home. So many incarcerated people are ready to be released and become contributing members of society. But the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles grants parole in only about 35% of the cases it reviews each year. To make matters worse, incarcerated people receive little to no information about how to self-advocate during the parole process, which requires assembling a parole packet, crafting a reentry plan, and gathering letters of support.
The opacity of the parole process disadvantages not just individuals seeking parole and their families, but also the public at large. Without genuine, particularized information about the person eligible for parole, the Parole Board cannot make informed and thoughtful decisions about reentry and second chances.
When people have a voice in their own parole process, the entire system functions more humanely and more effectively, for families impacted by incarceration and the general public alike.
Stay tuned! Our parole website is just a first step. In the coming months, we will translate our materials into Spanish and hold trainings for family members of people who are incarcerated.
With gratitude,
Burke Butler
Executive Director
Texas Defender Service
