Pubdate: Thu, 24 Aug 2000
Source: Austin American-Statesman (TX)
Copyright: 2000 Austin American-Statesman
Contact:  P. O. Box 670 Austin, Texas 78767
Fax: 512-445-3679
Website: http://www.austin360.com/statesman/editions/today/
Author: Mike Ward

STATE GRANTING PAROLE TO MORE TEXAS INMATES

Texas' parole rate climbed in July to its highest point in a single month since Gov. George W. Bush took office five years ago, with nearly 29 percent of eligible convicts approved for early release from prison, new statistics showed Wednesday.

The parole rate has been steadily climbing since September 1999, when it was just over 19 percent, state records show.

The timing of this trend could give Democrats ammunition against Republican Gov. George W. Bush in his quest for president on an issue that resonates with voters: public safety.

At least one Texas Democrat already is suggesting this spike is symptomatic of a deeper problem.

"An increase in parole indicates that the parole board has been keeping inmates behind bars longer than necessary at a high cost to the state," said Democratic Party Chairwoman Molly Beth Malcolm. "So the taxpayers have been footing a pretty steep bill just to make it look like Bush is being tough on crime. If that's not the case, then it looks like they're letting criminals out early to minimize the amount of the state's budget shortfall. . . . This is a very serious public policy issue."

Parole rates in Texas have been a political lightning rod since the early 1990s, when the board released nearly 80 percent of the convicts it considered -- both good risks and bad -- to ease prison crowding.

The result was a crime spree that came to be embodied by convicted killer Kenneth Wayne McDuff, who was freed early, even though he once had been on death row, only to kill again. Reacting to public outrage, the Legislature enacted tougher laws and more than doubled the size of the prison system in five years.

Bush aides on Wednesday downplayed the July rate. "These parole rates fluctuate from month to month, and Texas remains tough in dealing with violent offenders, especially sex offenders," said spokesman Mike Jones.

"The parole board is using their good judgment in the cases they approve. And the overall parole rate will remain in the low 20s, where it has been."

Parole officials said the upward trend actually reflects recent improvements in Texas' parole system, not a softening on crime or criminals.

Parole board Chairman Gerald Garrett acknowledged Wednesday that he was surprised by July's parole-approval rate, but he challenged any suggestion that the 18-member board might be approving too many early releases as Texas' prisons are becoming full.

"Public safety remains our top priority," he said. "We have seen a slow and steady rise for a year, and there are a lot of things that are responsible for that -- improvements we are making to the system and changes in the types of individuals we are voting on.

"Whether (the July rate) holds, we'll have to see. I don't think we should look at one month and start drawing conclusions."

Garrett attributed the increasing parole rates in the past year to many factors, among them the fact that Texas convicts, especially violent offenders, have been serving more of their sentences in recent years before they become eligible for parole. And that can mean they are older and better risks for release.

In addition, Garrett noted that the parole board last year began approving paroles contingent upon convicts successfully completing special rehabilitation programs while still in prison -- programs designed to help their transition into law-abiding citizens.

"We also have more options to keep these individuals under better supervision once they are released," Garrett said, from special monitoring bracelets that can pinpoint a parolee's movements within his or her neighborhood, to around-the-clock surveillance by parole officers, to stricter enforcement of release conditions.

Stennett Posey, a spokesman for the parole division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, said July's rate was the highest for one month since July 1994, when the board approved 31.8 percent of the cases it considered.

The annual parole rate plummeted after legislative changes in the 1990s, and it has hovered at about 20 percent ever since -- dipping in 1997 to just under 17 percent.

In July, the rate climbed to 28.7 percent as the board approved 1,538 of the 5,363 cases it reviewed. Through July, 13,513 convicts had been approved for parole this year, a rate just under 22 percent.

In addition to approving paroles, which are discretionary, the board also sets the conditions under which many more convicts are released early from prison each year. Those inmates are released under the mandatory supervision program, which allows convicts to be released once the time they have served and their time credits for good behavior equal their sentence. So far this year, 17,758 convicts, or about 29 percent, have been released on mandatory supervision.

In May, some lawmakers harshly criticized parole officials for keeping too many low-risk, nonviolent convicts in prison for too long, at a time when prison officials were saying $300 million worth of new prisons might be needed in five years to keep up with Texas' growing criminal population.

That was not a factor in the growing parole rate, Garrett said, and neither was Texas' growing prison population.
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