Our Client Allen is Finally Home!
Dear Friends,
We are pleased to share that the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles granted parole for our client Allen and he is now at home. Allen is a kind, gentle man of 69 years who poses no risk to anyone.
A preacher at the Pack Unit, Allen wanted nothing more than to spend what years he has left living a quiet life, centered around God and family—and because of TDS’s advocacy, he is finally doing just that. Allen has reentered the supportive community of his Baptist church and is aging at home with his stable and caring daughters and grandchildren. He is doing very well.
Elderly people now make up one in six of people behind bars in Texas. In Texas prisons, the elderly population has increased faster than any other age group, ballooning by over 50% since 2010. Incarcerated elderly people face significant health risks, including diabetes, hypertension, and cognitive impairment, and are at extreme risk of death from lack of air conditioning.
Like many of the elderly in Texas prisons, Allen’s life-threatening health challenges were not adequately managed in prison. He has Type 2 Diabetes, congestive heart failure, and high blood pressure. He currently takes ten different medications to manage his diabetes. Allen needs regular blood tests to monitor his medications, but while incarcerated he hadn’t seen a provider for over a year.
Allen has made mistakes in his life and takes full ownership of them, but there is no question that he poses zero risk to our community. First incarcerated in 1983 for a life sentence for theft, Allen was released in the 2010s. He complied with all of the requirements of his parole for a decade and successfully worked, but a week-long hospitalization caused him to lose his job and he struggled to find another. Worried about being a burden on his daughters, Allen struggled to survive on his own. Eventually, in the face of a financial struggle, he returned to substance use and theft and was incarcerated again in 2018. Since re-entering TDCJ, Allen took classes to help him understand the effect substances have on him, including NA/AA, Voyagers, Bridges to Life, and Overcomers. While incarcerated, Allen attended church twice a week and devoted the majority of his time to praying and studying scripture, as well as to preaching—often speaking to groups of 30 to 40 men. And he took great pride in his work at the prison barbershop.
Allen is now where he belongs during this final chapter of his life: at home, surrounded by people who love him.
With gratitude,
Burke Butler
Executive Director
Texas Defender Service
