June 26, 2004, 11:13PM
Paroles climb to highest rate in years
More criminals released as prisons near capacity
By ANDREW TILGHMAN
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/2648261The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles is granting early release for prison inmates at its highest rate in more than 10 years, a practice that helps to postpone a prison overcrowding problem but also puts a growing number of violent criminals back on the street.
The percentage of parole-eligible inmates who are approved for release under the supervision of parole officers has nearly doubled in recent years, from a low of less than 17 percent in 1997 to more than 30 percent so far this year, state records show.
Parole releases have risen while the state prison system has hovered near its capacity. The higher approval rating has helped stabilize the size of the inmate population, which keeps taxpayer costs down and relieves pressure on the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to find space for newly convicted criminals.
*SNIP*
In the early 1990s, voters statewide became outraged by high crime rates and TV images of criminals streaming out of the prison gates each day.
Former Gov. Ann Richards responded with a massive prison-building program and by supporting laws to limit parole releases. But she was defeated in 1994 after George W. Bush portrayed her as soft on crime and vowed to eliminate parole for murderers and other violent criminals.
*SNIP*
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