AUSTIN, Texas - Texas officials canceled parole for more than 150 young offenders after learning that many had served only minimal time for violent crimes, including murder. The revelation outraged state lawmakers, who just this spring approved a massive overhaul of the troubled juvenile system in response to abuse allegations. It also prompted the scandal-plagued Texas Youth Commission to review its parole criteria, officials said Thursday. The commission was already under scrutiny for allegations that inmates had been sexually and physically abused at the West Texas State School in Pyote, and that employees who knew about the problems did nothing to stop them. Questions about the parole recommendation were raised by state adult parole officials, who supervise released juveniles and reviewed the files. The adult parole officials told lawmakers that many of the young offenders on the list could pose a threat to the public. One juvenile on the list had served less than three years of a 40-year sentence for the killing of a classmate. Another was serving time for molesting six children and was reprimanded for indecent exposure and possession of a weapon while incarcerated. "Some of these crimes were horrendous. There's no way these offenders should be on the street," said House Corrections Committee Chairman Jerry Madden, who on Thursday demanded the juveniles' cases be reviewed again. Texas Youth Commission spokesman Jim Hurley said all those on the list met the standards for release on parole. "But after further consideration," Hurley said, "we are not comfortable with our recommendation, and we are pulling all of them back for a much more in-depth review. We are going to take a good, hard look at all those files." Current policies require several agency employees, such as psychologists and superintendents, to approve such paroles. Hurley said neither acting executive director Dimitria Pope nor conservator Ed Owens had approved any of the youngsters for release. After the abuse allegations surfaced early this year, state lawmakers overhauled the juvenile system. They voted to improve the staff-to-inmate ratios, set up a new citizen oversight board, strengthen investigative powers and name an ombudsman for inmates. Several agency officials resigned, and two were indicted. An official appointed to review the agency also began case reviews to find inmates whose sentences had been extended unfairly. "It's incredulous to me that this could happen after all the work the Legislature did last spring to clean up this agency," Madden said. The Texas Youth Commission incarcerates about 3,800 offenders ages 10 to 21 who are considered the most dangerous, incorrigible or chronic. It operates 15 prisons — two are set to be closed this summer — nine halfway houses, and treatment and counseling centers.
ma police, boston ma police, massachusetts police, massachusetts police, mass state police, mass police, ma, mass, massachusetts, massachusetts, massachutes, massachusetts law, massachusetts polece, police, officer, police officer, cops, police gear, law enforcement, police duty gear, state police, sheriff, law, police supply, police agency directory, police agency, police department, traffic officer, police dept, state trooper, dispatcher, massachusetts county sheriff, massachusetts sheriff, massachusetts department of corrections, ma doc, doc, dept of corrections, police information, civil service, ma civil service, massachusetts crime, police training, police academy, ma police academy, massachusetts officers, masscop, masscops, mpa, bpa, ibpoa, police association, massachusetts police news, massachusetts crime news, mass most wanted, police career information, police patrol, police administration, police books, crime scene training, police discussion, crime discussions, cops
About MassCops, the home for Massachusetts law enforcement.
The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network opened in 1998 and is now a part of the New England Police Network The site is a pro-police discussion forum intended for sworn police officers and civilian law enforcement officials as well as those interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement here in Massachusetts.
The goal of The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network is to provide an informal network of law enforcement officials here in Massachusetts for educational and informational purposes.
The forum covers many topics such as Police Related News Articles, Agency & Profession Discussions, Police Training as well as Law Enforcement Career Information.
The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network and The New England Police Network (NEPN) and it's network sites are privately owned websites/domains and are not affiliated with or endorsed by any government association or agency.
MassCops (masscops.com) and (masscop.com) are privately owned are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Massachusetts Coalition of Police (masscop.org)
ma police, boston ma police, massachusetts police, massachusetts police, mass state police, mass police, ma, mass, massachusetts, massachusetts, massachutes, massachusetts law, massachusetts polece, police, officer, police officer, cops, police gear, law enforcement, police duty gear, state police, sheriff, law, police supply, police agency directory, police agency, police department, traffic officer, police dept, state trooper, dispatcher, massachusetts county sheriff, massachusetts sheriff, massachusetts department of corrections, ma doc, doc, dept of corrections, police information, civil service, ma civil service, massachusetts crime, police training, police academy, ma police academy, massachusetts officers, masscop, masscops, mpa, bpa, ibpoa, police association, massachusetts police news, massachusetts crime news, mass most wanted, police career information, police patrol, police administration, police books, crime scene training, police discussion, crime discussions, cops