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Parole Resources

 Elderly 
Youth  
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BOOK REPORT GUIDE & SUGGESTED BOOK LIST

This guide is intended to help you write book reports.  Book reports can be an important way to show the Board that you are thinking about and working on some aspect of yourself and/or your life crime(s).  Book reports can also help you to fill in gaps in the programming that is available to you at your institution. 

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WHAT HAPPENS ON THE DAY OF & DURING A HEARING?

This Guide is intended to take some of the mystery out of what happens on the day of and during a hearing.  As you prepare for the hearing, keep in mind that the main purpose of the hearing is for the Board to determine whether the person before them has identified the factors that contributed to their crime and whether they have taken appropriate steps while incarcerated to make sure those factors will not contribute to another crime in the future.  

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HOW TO CHALLENGE A COMPREHENSIVE RISK ASSESSMENT

This Guide is intended to help you understand the Comprehensive Risk Assessment (CRA or "psychological evaluation") process and challenge any factual errors, mischaracterizations, or omissions you find in those reports.

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OVERVIEW OF

CALIFORNIA'S PAROLE CONSIDERATION PROCESS

& HOW TO

PREPARE FOR IT

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HOW TO WRITE A LETTER OF REMORSE

This Guide is intended to help you through the process of writing letters of remorse to the victim(s) of your crime, to their families, and to the communities that you affected.  Use this Guide as a resource to help you through your own journey of remorse, but do not feel tied to the advice given.  

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HOW TO WRITE A LETTER OF SUPPORT

This Guide is intended to help you draft a strong letter of support.  Letters of support are an important part of the documentation the person you support will provide to the Board in advance of or during their parole consideration hearing.

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HOW TO WRITE
A RELAPSE PREVENTION PLAN

This Guide is intended to help you write a Relapse Prevention Plan (RPP).  While an RPP is not required by the Board, it can be a very important document for you to prepare and give to the Board in advance of or during your parole consideration hearing. 

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PETITION OF

ADVANCE HEARING DATE

Inmates sentenced to a life term can request to advance their next parole suitability hearing by filling out this form (called a petition) and mailing it to the Board of Parole Hearings at the address above. 

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LWOP PAROLE PACKET

 

 

Compiled by

Legal Services for

Prisoners with Children

Update January 2019

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STRUCTURED DECISION MAKING FRAMEWORK WORKSHEET

FOR PAROLE HEARINGS CONDUCTED BY

THE CALIFORNIA BOARD OF PAROLE HEARINGS

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TOP 5 COLLEGE CORRESPONDENCE PROGRAMS FOR PRISONERS

In the realm of higher education, behind bars correspondence studies reign supreme .  While traditional college students attend school in-person, and some even via internet technologies such as Blackboard, prisoners largely participate in higher education the very old fashioned way:

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LIFE PAROLE SUITABILITY INFORMATION LETTER

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The California Prison and Parole Law Handbook (Prison Law Office, 2019) contains information about setting parole dates for people with indeterminate sentences and the parole suitability process. It also covers early parole eligibility consideration for people who committed their crimes when they were young, people who are elderly, people serving sentences for non-violent offenses, and people who are medically incapacitated or terminally ill. 

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RESENTENCING & REENTRY

SUPPORT DOCUMENTS

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A How-To-Guide For Incarcerated People Seeking Resentencing Under California's Second-Look Resentencing Law

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SUCCESSFUL PAROLE CONSIDERATION HEARINGS

The Basic Handbook for the Life Prisoner

The purpose of this handbook is to teach you how to use the tools of grace, truth, and information to:

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  1. Prepare for your lifer hearing,

  2. Have a successful hearing,

  3. Be prepared to file a writ,

  4. and fulfill your goal of earning Release

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PAROLE  PreparationTOOLKIT

 

An action guide for

understanding and preparing

for your parole hearing

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Elderly Parole

Elderly Parole
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PROPOSE REGULATIONS FOR STATUTORY ELDERLY

PAROLE PROGRAM

The Board of Parole Hearings has been conducting elderly parole hearings under a court order since October 2014.  At these hearings individuals who have been incarcerated for 25 years, and are over 60 years of age are considered for parole release.  

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE ELDERLY PAROLE PROGRAM

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On February 10, 2014, the federal three-judge court overseeing the California prison overcrowding class action case (Plata/Coleman v. Brown) issued order that required the State to develop and implement "a new parole process whereby inmate who are 60 years of age of older and have served a minimum of twenty-five years of their sentence will be referred to the Board of Parole Hearings to determine suitability for parole"

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BPH RN XX-XX PROPSED REGULATORY TEXT

BARCLAYS OFFICIAL CALIFORNIA CODE OF REGULATIONS TITLE 15. CRIME PREVENTION AND CORRECTIONS

DIVISION 2. BOARD OF PAROLE HEARINGS

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CHAPTER 3. PAROLE RELEASE

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Article 17. Parole Consideration Hearings for Elderly Inmates is added to read as follows:

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ARTICLE 17. PAROLE CONSIDERATION HEARINGS FOR ELDERLY INMATES

YOUTH Parole

Youth Parole

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YOUTH OFFENDER PAROLE

 

A Guide for People in Prison and

Families and Friends

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FRANKLIN HEARINGS

Thank you for your interest in asking for a court hearing to make a record of how your young age at the time of your offense affected your actions.  In People v Franklin (2016) 65 Cal.4th 261, the California Supreme Court said a defendant who will be entitled a youth offender parole hearing under Penal Code section 3051 may ask the superior court for permission to preserve evidence that is expected to helpful at the parole hearing.

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YOUTH OFFENDER PAROLE OPPORTUNITITES

This letter is for people sentenced to lengthy prison terms in California for crimes committed when they were juveniles (under age 18) or young adults (under age 26); these people are called “youth offenders.” The information here applies mainly to youth offenders whose convictions are final (no longer on appeal), and who are serving any of the following types of sentences: life without the possibility of parole (LWOP); indeterminate terms (life with the possibility of parole after a minimum number of years); and long determinate terms (a set number of years).

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