- What is parole?
- What is the difference between probation and parole?
- Does an inmate apply for parole?
- When are inmates eligible? What inmates are eligible for parole? Who is not eligible for parole?
- When are inmates serving a life sentence eligible for parole?
- Are inmates considered for parole more than once?
- How does the parole consideration process in Georgia work?
- What are Parole Decision Guidelines?
For inmates eligible for parole consideration and not sentenced to life, at the time of consideration, the Board may establish a Tentative Parole Month (TPM) for parole on a date in the future or the Board may deny parole entirely. The TPM represents a portion of the prison sentence the inmate should serve prior to release to parole. The Board may reconsider and change a prior decision in a case, for any reason, at any time, up to the time of release.
The Board considers all available information before granting a tentative parole month or TPM in a case. There is no set timeline for a decision to be made. Once the Board reaches a decision, the inmate will be notified and the inmate will be able to notify family. The parole consideration process includes investigations on the inmate that take time to complete. Next the case file is assigned to a Hearing Examiner, who studies it and calculates the Parole Decision Guidelines recommendation. (*see guidelines under Parole Selection)
Next the offender’s case file is given to one of the five Board Members, who studies it, deliberates alone, and renders his or her independent decision.
On non-life cases, Board Members determine whether the Guidelines recommendation for parole denial or for a tentative parole month (TPM) is appropriate or whether mitigating or aggravating factors should override the recommendation. The Board Member can determine more or less of the prison sentence should be served prior to parole.
The case file is then passed on to a second member and the process continues until the majority decision has been reached on whether or not to parole the individual, and if so, when.
If a TPM is set by the Board, that is a future tentative parole date. It is not a final parole grant and it does not guarantee that the inmate will be paroled.
At the time of the TPM, a final review of the case determines if a release date is set by the Board.
If the Board is inclined to consider parole for an inmate before service of one-third of the sentence, Georgia law requires the Board to write the sentencing judge, district attorney, and victim and give them ten days to express their views. If there is a protest, the Board Members consider any response from these individuals.
It is a carefully researched method of standardizing offenders' confinement times based on crime severity and parole risk. Implemented in 1979 and revised several times since, the Parole Decision Guidelines is used to assist the Board in making consistent, soundly based, and understandable parole decisions on inmates serving non-life sentences. The offender's likelihood of success on parole (risk to re-offend) is measured by weighted factors concerning the offender's criminal and social history which the Board has found to have value predicting the probability of further criminal behavior and successful adjustment under parole supervision.