For this DB you are a member of the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole, your task is to grant one of the following applicants parole.

For this DB you are a member of the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole, your task is to grant one of the following applicants parole.

For this DB you are a member of the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole, your task is to grant one of the following applicants parole.

Which applicant would you recommend for parole?

Explain why you choose this particular applicant compared to the other three.

What programs or conditions of release do you recommend for this applicant you selected?

Explain why you rejected the other three applicants.

Parole Applicant # 1: An admitted heroin addict, age 33, who has served seven years of a ten “ year sentence for armed robbery. He used a gun in the robbery of a convenience store. Prior to this prison sentence, he has been on probation for a series of theft offenses. The prisoner participated in substance abuse counseling and, except for two incidents five years ago of being caught attempting to make home brew from alcohol based cough syrup and fruit juice, has never caused any discipline problems. He earned his GED in prison. He has been promised a job as a nighttime stock clerk at a discount department store near his old neighborhood. He has no family except a brother who also works at the discount store.

Parole applicant # 2: A College- educated, former band manager, age 42, who has convicted of molesting boys in a Boy Scout Troop for which he was the Scoutmaster. He has served three years of an eight year sentence. He has been a model prisoner, serving as a tutor for other prisoners in the GED program and organizing religious programs through the prison chapel. He was told upon sentencing that he must participate in a special abuse counseling program, but he is still on the waiting list to be transferred to the overcrowded special correctional facility that has such a program. He has voluntarily worked with the counselor in the prison, but this counselor has no special training for sex abuse treatment programs. He has been promised a job as a bookkeeper in an insurance company managed by his old college roommate. His wife divorced him and took the children.

Parole applicant #3: A twenty- two year old high school dropout who has served three years of an eight year sentence for shooting and seriously injuring a member of a rival gang. He has a long record of arrests and convictions for lesser offenses of assault, vandalism, weapons possession, and possession of stolen property. He was suspected of being involved in gang “ related trafficking prior to imprisonment. Although he did not commit any major disciplinary infractions in prison, he spent his time with members of his gang, many of whom frequently caused trouble inside in prison. He is suspected of participating in a gang related assault in the prison, but no prisoners who witnessed the event have been willing to provide information. He has not participated in any prison programs, except for spending many hours lifting weights in the recreation program. He has been promised a job unloading trucks at a warehouse.

Parole applicant #4: A woman with many previous convictions for prostitution and drug possession was convicted of killing a man believed to be one of her customers. She stabbed him and then shot him after he was seriously inquired by a knife wound. She claimed that she acted in self “defense but a jury convicted her of second “ degree murder. She has served eight years of a fifteen “year sentence. She refused to participate in counseling programs because she claimed that she was not guilty for the crime for which she was convicted. During imprisonment, she received citations for a series of minor infractions such as stealing food from the cafeteria, refusing to obey instructions from corrections officers, and fighting with other inmates. Her mother, who was caring for her 10 year old daughter while she was in prison, has recently died of cancer and the child has been placed in foster care. She has been promised a job working a dry cleaning store.