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$250 Million in Prison Budget Cuts

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is preparing for a $250 million budget cut for the 2018-2019 budget. The agency has declined where the savings will occur but closing prisons and releasing more nonviolent offenders is not out of the question. In June, Governor Greg Abbot instructed state agencies to submit budget plans reflecting a 4 percent reduction for 2017 budget negotiations. Texas Department of Criminal Justice has an annual operating budget of more than $3 billion with the bulk of that expense going to approximately 40,000 employees.   TDCJRead More


Former U.S. Marshal Joins CCA Board

Former director of the U.S. Marshals Service, Stacia Hylton, has joined the board of directors of Corrections Corporation of America. Corrections Corporation of America, or CCA, is the largest for-profit prison corporation in the country.   Ms. Hyltons' appointment comes on the heal of a CCA report from an August 3 earning that stock prices plummeted  which could cause CCA to lose a lucrative South Texas contract.  Losing the contract would put a major dent in CCA's revenue.  According to the most recent annual filing with the Securities and ExchangeRead More


Cell Phones in Prison and How They Can Affect Parole

Cell Phones in Prison The prison systems are now taking the position that the #1 problem in the facilities are contraband cell phones. To support their case they are arguing the cell phones create a "danger" of escape, being used to arrange illegal activity, etc. Why Is It a Big Deal? The prisons and legislators point to a case where a contract killer was allegedly hired by a prisoner via cell phone to kill someone. However, the real reason that they are being pursued so heavily is that it is an additional wayRead More


TDCJ Unveils New Inmate Censorship Policy

In the new Offender Orientation Handbook released this earlier this month, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice instituted a new policy punishing offenders for having a social media presence even if it is managed by a friend or family member.   The new offender manual creates a prohibition on inmates "maintaining active social media accounts for the purposes of soliciting, updating, or engaging others, through a third party or otherwise."   Offenders who violate the new policy will be charged with a level three disciplinary violation which can result inRead More


Our Free Book on Texas Parole

While the book we sell, How to Prepare a Texas Parole Packet, is the bestselling one on Amazon and our website, this article is just to remind people we also have a free one available as well. Understanding the Texas Parole Process is a book written by our expert to assist people in understanding how the Texas parole system works. While it doesn't address the specifics of preparing a parole packet, it does provide a lot of information on the factors that go into getting a parole approved as wellRead More