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(Slightly) higher Texas parole rates helping reduce overincarceration

Via Sentencing Law & Policy, I noticed this AP article predicting the United States' overall prison population may decline in 2009 for the first time in decades. The article contained this Texas tidbit:the economic crisis forced states to reconsider who they put behind bars and how long they kept them there, said Kim English, research director for the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice.In Texas, parole rates were once among the lowest in the nation, with as few as 15 percent of inmates being granted release as recently as five years ago. Now, the parole rate is more than 30 percent after Texas began identifying low-risk candidates for parole.I replied thusly in the comments about that particular claim:I don't recall Texas' parole rates ever being at 15% anytime in recent memory...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on December 23, 2009 (boomark / email).