What Parole Means
In Oklahoma, parole means letting a state prisoner out on conditions as long as they meet certain requirements. The rules will be put on the inmate for the rest of the time they would have spent there.
In Oklahoma, an inmate’s freedom can depend on their parole hearing. It might be good for everyone. The prisoner is let out with terms. On the other hand, fewer people are in jail, which saves money.
Parole gives people a chance to get back into society while still getting help and being watched. The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board is in charge of the process in Oklahoma.
Who Can Get A Hearing On Parole?
In Oklahoma, getting a parole hearing depends on the crime and the amount of time already spent. To do this, prisoners can be roughly grouped into two groups: violent criminals and nonviolent offenders.
You have to spend one-third of your sentence if you are a nonviolent offender before you can get a hearing. For a violent crime, a person must serve 85% of their term before they can get parole.
The first step is to be eligible for the hearing. Once you are eligible for a hearing, one is set, and the process starts.
What the Parole Board Does to Get Ready for the Hearing
As the hearing date gets closer, notices are sent to the inmate, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, the district attorneys in charge of prosecution, the victim or victims of the crime, and anyone else who has filed their interest in that inmate with the Pardon and Parole Board Victim’s Coordinator.
The board’s review process is very long. It looks at a person’s whole criminal history, including how many and what kinds of crimes they were convicted of before the crime they are currently spending time for.
The board also looks at the original crime, any victim impact statements made in the trial court, and the inmate’s record while they were locked up. This is the part of their review that looks back.
It’s also possible for the board to look ahead. It checks to see if the prisoner has finished high school. If not, the prison may require the person to get a GED before they can be freed on parole.
The board will also want to make sure that the prisoner has a good place to live and a job. If it wants to make sure that someone on parole goes to programs for anger management, drug abuse treatment, therapy, or something similar, it will check to see what programs are available near the inmate’s home before granting parole. Okla. Stat. Tit. 57 § 332.7, 332.8
These steps are meant to find out if the prisoner will be able to complete their release term. The more help there is, the more likely it is that the person on parole will do well.
Your Chance to Persuade the Board
For nonviolent inmates, parole meetings happen once a year. So, if someone is turned down for release, they will have to wait another year. You should be ready for the meeting and know what to expect.
As part of the parole process, the danger to society of early release is weighed against the prisoner’s desire and readiness to return to society. If there is no danger to society and the board thinks that the release would work, then it may be granted.
The prisoner or someone authorized to speak for the prisoner can say if he or she is ready to be released. The person speaking has two minutes to talk to the board. So, an El Reno criminal defense lawyer who focuses in parole meetings could be very helpful.
The board will probably also ask the inmate some questions. Most of the time, the questions are meant to find out how the prisoner feels and what they think about the act. This can include questions about how sorry the person is or how the crime made the victim feel.
In other questions, the inmate’s social support network will be talked about. The board will want to know if the inmate has a good place to live and how they plan to get a job.
If the board says no to release, the person will not be considered again for at least another year. Get help and do this right. An El Reno lawyer can help your loved one get ready for the hearing and can also speak for the inmate at the hearing.
Call Today To Set Up A Meeting
If you or a loved one is seeking parole, call an El Reno parole hearing attorney, who can get you through the process successfully. Call Wirth Law Office – El Reno at (405) 395-2900 for a consultation. In the upper right corner of this page, you can also ask a question through our Ask The Attorney form. We’ll answer all of your questions as soon as we can.
