Q: What if parole is denied?
A: If an offender is denied parole on first review, he or she is given either a Serve-All (SA) or a Next Review (NR) date (sometimes called Continued Review Date or Set-Off). An NR vote means that the Board has decided the offender is not ready for parole but that a subsequent review should be conducted at a specified future date within one to three years. A Serve-All vote means that the offender is not considered ready for parole and that no future parole reviews will be scheduled. A Serve-All may only be given to offenders who have less than three years until their discharge or scheduled release to mandatory supervision.

If reconsideration of an SA or NR decision is requested by an offender based on new information previously unavailable to the parole panel, then the offender's file and the new information may be presented for "Special Review" to the Board. The Special Review Panel will determine whether the new information is pertinent to the parole decision and whether the case should be returned to the original parole panel for a re-vote. Special Reviews are not commonly granted.

Q: What other voting options are available to the Board?
A: The following is a list of voting options other than Serve-All or Next Review options. When the vote sets a tentative future date for release (voting options FI 2, FI 3R, FI 4, FI 6R, FI 9R, and FI 18R), that date cannot be more than three years from the "docket date" (initial parole eligibility date in some cases, next review date in other cases) or from the date of the panel decision if the docket date has already passed by the time the Board votes.

FI 1 The offender is to be released on parole as soon as he or she is eligible.

FI 2 The offender is to be released on a specified future date within the three year incarceration period following the date of the panel decision.

FI 3R The offender is to be transferred to a TDCJ rehabilitation tier program of not less than three months in length and not earlier than the specified date, with release to parole upon program completion. Such TDCJ program may include the Pre-Release Substance Abuse Program (PRSAP).

FI 4 The offender is to be transferred to a Pre-Parole Transfer facility prior to the presumptive parole date set by Board Panel, with release to parole supervision on the presumptive parole date.

FI 5 The offender is to be transferred to Inpatient Therapeutic Community Program, with release to an aftercare component only after completion of IPTC program.

FI 6R The offender is to be transferred to a TDCJ rehabilitation tier program of not less than six months in length and not earlier than the specified date, with release to parole upon program completion. Such TDCJ program may include the Pre-Release Therapeutic Community (PRTC).

FI 9R The offender is to be transferred to a TDCJ rehabilitation tier program of not less than nine months in length and not earlier than the specified date, with release to parole upon program completion. Such TDCJ program may include the In-Prison Therapeutic Community (IPTC).

FI 18R The offender is to be transferred to a TDCJ rehabilitation tier program of not less than 18 months in length and not earlier than the specified date, with parole upon program completion. Such TDCJ program may include the Sex Offender Treatment Program (SOTP).

CU-FI Designates the date on which an offender serving consecutive sentences would have been eligible for parole if the offender had been sentenced to serve a single sentence. The cause numbers that were approved will be indicated in the vote.

CU-NR A Board Panel denial of favorable parole action in a consecutive sentence case, which sets the specified cause number for next review during a future specified month and year.

DMS Deny Mandatory Supervision. Applicable to HB 1433 cases, i.e., offenders for whom mandatory supervision is "discretionary" because their mandatory release eligible offense was committed on or after September 1, 1996.

RMS Release to Mandatory Supervision. Applicable to HB 1433 "discretionary mandatory supervision" cases.


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