A common misperception in Texas parole matters, probably because of the movies and television, is that parole hearings consist of the potential parolee being brought into a room and being interviewed by the parole board.

That is absolutely wrong.

In Texas, the offender is usually interviewed by someone from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles but it is done months in advance of the actual decision and the person doing the interview is not one of those who actually vote.

Instead, the votes are made by two members of the parole board for that area and are based solely on what is contained in their files, with them never having met the person whose fate they are deciding. In the event the two members don't agree on the decision, then the third member casts the deciding vote.

While we discuss the actual numbers else where on this website and in our book "How to Prepare a Texas Parole Presentation Package" for our purposes here it is sufficient to say that when you run the math based on the numbers of paroles reviewed and the amount of hours in a work week then it become very obvious that only a few minutes are given to each person.

That's why it makes it so important to do a good Texas parole packet, it is the only way the offender has of making their case that they should be granted parole.