Are you looking for answers to your questions about parole in Georgia?
When will an offender be eligible for parole?
What factors does the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles (“the Georgia Parole Board”) take into consideration when deciding whether to grant an offender release on parole?
What are the chances for a good parole decision and what can be done to enhance those chances?
Will the Georgia Parole Board consider an offender for a medical reprieve?
What unique challenges will sex offenders face in Georgia when it comes to parole?Is there anything that can be done to facilitate an offender’s release from prison if the offender’s Performance Incentive Credit date (“PIC date”) or Tentative Parole Month (“TPM”) has already passed and the offender has not been released yet?
The Atlanta law firm of McIntyre & Associates has a former Parole Board on staff and is in a unique position to answer these and other questions you have about parole in Georgia. To many people, the parole process is a mystery. We can help you understand what will happen at the Georgia Parole Board regarding an offender’s case and when it will happen.
At McIntyre & Associates we:
- Address parole concerns of clients and their families
- Provide experienced advice to clients and their families regarding what they can be doing right now to maximize the chances for a favorable parole decision the next time that the Georgia Parole Board considers their case
- Represent clients before the Georgia Parole Board, meeting with Georgia Parole Board officials to learn more about the status of clients’ parole cases and submitting materials to the Georgia Parole Board on behalf of clients
- Advise clients and their families about alternative remedies that could be pursued to facilitate release from confinement
- Assist clients who encounter roadblocks in the final stages of the release process and also while on parole.
Let McIntyre & Associates provide you with a sound strategy of how to maximize an offender’s chance of being released on parole as soon as possible under current Georgia law and pursuant to Georgia Parole Board policies.
OVERVIEW OF THE PAROLE PROCESS
In general, parole eligibility is controlled by Georgia statute, with many offenders becoming parole eligible after service of one-third of the offender’s sentence. the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles has internal rules that it follows when reviewing offenders for parole. McIntyre & Associates keeps abreast of changes in both the law and the Georgia Parole Board’s policies to ensure that our clients receive the best and most accurate advice possible regarding parole matters.
Preparation of parole release plans
Prior to most offenders being released on parole, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles must verify the offender’s proposed release plan, which must include an appropriate residence. The lack of planning in this area often results in delays of an offender’s release on parole. McIntyre & Associates assists our clients in identifying acceptable plans well in advance of the clients’ Tentative Parole Months to facilitate our clients’ timely release on parole. We also work closely with Georgia Parole Board staff to resolve issues that arise during the verification process.
ASSESSMENT OF CASES FOR PAROLE CONSIDERATION
With a former Board Member of the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles reviewing our clients’ cases, McIntyre & Associates offers clients a unique parole assessment of their cases. Our firm evaluates clients’ cases to determine what the recommendation to the Georgia Parole Board should be under the Parole Decision Guidelines system and to identify mitigating and aggravating factors that we believe will impact the Georgia Parole Board Members’ decision in a client’s case. We also provide the client with an assessment of how we believe the client’s case will be perceived by the Georgia Parole Board and offer suggestions of steps that the client should take prior to the client’s initial or next consideration by the Georgia Parole Board.
PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE CREDITS (PIC)
The Georgia Department of Corrections and the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles initially implemented the Performance Incentive Credit (“PIC”) program on April 1, 1993. The PIC program allows offenders to earn a reduction in their Tentative Parole Month through program completions, work detail performance and maintaining good institutional conduct.
INITIAL PAROLE CONSIDERATION AND RECONSIDERATION OF PAROLE
Regardless of whether an offender is being reviewed by the Georgia Parole Board for the first time or whether the offender is being reviewed for a subsequent time, a scheduled Georgia Parole Board review of an offender’s case is an opportunity that every offender should seize to present the Georgia Parole Board with important, pertinent information that may not already be in the Georgia Parole Board’s file regarding the offender.
PARDONS
Article IV, Section II, Paragraph II of the Georgia Constitution provides that the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles is “vested with the power of executive clemency, including the powers to grant reprieves, pardons, and paroles; to commute penalties; to remove disabilities imposed by law; and to remit any part of a sentence for any offense against the state after conviction.”
REPRESENTATION CONCERNING MATTERS UNIQUE TO SEX OFFENDER CASES
Offenders charged with and convicted of sexual offenses in Georgia face unique challenges. They are subject to extra steps in the parole process and must comply with additional restrictions once released into society. McIntyre & Associates has the knowledge and the experience to assist clients prosecuted for sex crimes with the unique challenges they face at every stage of their prosecution, imprisonment, and continued sex offender registration and restrictions upon release.
parole cases CONCERNING IMMIGRATION AND DEPORTATION ISSUES
McIntyre & Associates is well positioned to provide evaluations to offenders who are not citizens of the United States of America regarding how their cases will be handled by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, particularly in cases where deportation is at issue.
Also, McIntyre & Associates can assist clients who are not citizens of the United States of America in their efforts to be returned to their home country by working with the Consulates of their home countries and the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”).
REPRESENTATION CONCERNING OUT OF STATE PAROLE MATTERS
McIntyre & Associates can assist clients currently imprisoned in Georgia in their efforts to be paroled to states other than Georgia by working with Georgia’s Interstate Compact division and the Interstate Compact divisions of other states to facilitate the approval of their out-of-state parole release plans. Similarly, we can assist clients who were convicted in states other than Georgia but are currently serving their parole in Georgia with problems that arise while on parole in Georgia.