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Change in Texas Parole Law May Be Ex Post Facto Violation
by Matthew T. Clarke
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a change in Texas parole laws requiring a two-thirds majority vote of the entire board for certain prisoners may violate the Ex Post Facto clause when applied retroactively to prisoners whose crimes occurred prior to the change …
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a change in Texas parole laws requiring a two-thirds majority vote of the entire board for certain prisoners may violate the Ex Post Facto clause when applied retroactively to prisoners whose crimes occurred prior to the change …
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More from this issue:
- Not the Usual Suspects: The Politics of the Prison Boom, by Marie Gottschalk
- Arkansas Law Discloses Legislators’ Business Ties to State, by David Reutter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- PEW Public Safety Report: Prisoncrats Abuse Their Probation/Parole Violation Powers So As To Stymie Offenders’ Re-entry Into Society, by Marvin Mentor
- Child Abuse Abounds in Wilderness and Boot Camp Programs, by Matthew Clarke
- Squalor, Corruption Cause Cancellation of GEO Group’s TYC Contract, by Gary Hunter
- A Long Road Toward Reform: An Interview with John Boston, Director of the Prisoners’ Rights Project of the New York City Legal Aid Society, by Todd Matthews
- Compassionless Conservative Texas Judge Closes Court Promptly, Ensuring Execution, by Matthew Clarke
- Once Again, Former Florida DOC Secretary Faces Liability in Prisoner Beating; Case Settled for $400,000, by David Reutter
- Two BOP Guards, One Beaten Prisoner: One Guilty Plea, One Acquittal
- “Hot Bunking” at Cook County Jail Could Violate Consent Decree
- Out-going Kentucky Governor Issues 101 Pardons, Commutations, by David Reutter
- Wisconsin County Bans Profiteering in Jail Phone Contracts
- Missouri Execution Nurse, Doctor Have Questionable Histories, by John Dannenberg
- Indicted California Sheriff Resigns to Fight Federal Corruption Charges
- California DOC Federal Health Care Receiver Replaced, by John Dannenberg
- California Juvenile Parolees Entitled to Two-Step Revocation Process, by John Dannenberg
- $100,000 Settlement in Illinois Jail Guard’s Forced Oral Sex of Female Prisoner
- California: Few Sex Predators Civilly Committed To Mental Hospitals, Despite Expanded Qualification Criteria, by John Dannenberg
- CCA Fined $140,000 for Early Release of Prisoners at FL Jail; Quits Contract
- Infected Hand Mistreatment At Sacramento County Jail Settled For $100,000
- Georgia Sheriff, Judges, Other Officials Face Misconduct, Criminal Charges, by David Reutter
- Grand Jury Report, Four Nebraska Jail Guards Indicted in Prisoner’s Death, by David Reutter
- No Safety or Security for Maryland Prisoners, by Michael Rigby
- $150,000 Settlement in Pennsylvania Jail Prisoner’s Suicide
- Ohio Prisoner Wins $4,525 Award For Assault By Guard
- California DOC Stipulates to Removal of Visitor X-Ray Ma-chines, but Damages Appeal Dismissed, by John Dannenberg
- Washington State Sex Offender Vigilante Dies In Prison
- $35,00 Settlement in Sexual Assault of Pennsylvania Female Prisoner by Guard
- Ninth Circuit: Prisoner’s Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment Classification Claims Fail Sandin Test, by John Dannenberg
- Change in Texas Parole Law May Be Ex Post Facto Violation, by Matthew Clarke
- News in Brief:
- Ninth Circuit: Vested Retirement Benefits May Be Garnished to Pay Criminal Fines
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Federal Court Grants HRDC Preliminary Injunction Against Mail Censorship at New Mexico Jail, May 1, 2026
- Faced with Record-Breaking Jail Deaths, L.A. County Supervisors Tell Sheriff’s Department to Improve Access to Naloxone, Camera Monitoring, and Security Checks at California Jail, May 1, 2026
- Federal Court Places Medical Care in Arizona Prisons Under Receivership, May 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Liability but Reverses Damages in Lawsuit Over Illinois Warden and Investigator Using Prisoner as Bait to Catch Staff Member Raping Her, May 1, 2026
- Texas Moves to Restrict Cashless Bond and Reverse Federal Court-Ordered Misdemeanor Bail Reform, May 1, 2026
- In Texas, Harris County Commissioners Approve $1.2 Million for Fourth Study of Jail Since 2020 After Dozens of Abuse Allegations, April 1, 2026
- Texas Attorney General Clarifies Scope of Statute Requiring Outside Agency Investigation of Jail Deaths, April 1, 2026
- D.C. Judge Blocks Transfer of Biden-Commuted Federal Death Row Prisoners to “Supermax,” Citing Lack of Meaningful Due Process, April 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Revives Lawsuit Over Iowa Jail Detainee’s Suicide, April 1, 2026
- Groundbreaking Statistical Study of Pregnant Texas Jail Detainees Finds Over 400 Monthly, April 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- California Spends $300 Million Each Year Incarcerating Senior Citizens in Women’s Prisons, April 1, 2026. Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Totality of Conditions, Parole, Life without Parole (LWOP), Americans with Disabilities Act.
- SCOTUS Announces Sentencing Reform Act Does Not Authorize Automatic Extension of Supervised Release When Defendant Absconds, Resolving Circuit Split, April 1, 2026. Sentencing, Revocation/Modification of Probation, etc., Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Sentences - Corrections or Modifications of, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
- Colorado Law Intended to Reduce Prison Population Hasn’t Improved Conditions, March 1, 2026. Overcrowding, Parole, halfway houses, Reduction of Prison Population.
- Maine Was the First State to Abolish Parole. Incarcerated Mainers, Advocates Hope to Bring it Back., March 1, 2026. Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Parole, Post-release, ex-offender, re-entry, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, De Facto Life Sentence.
- Colorado Lawmakers Approve Prison Bed Funding, Despite DOC Understaffing, March 1, 2026. Overcrowding, Staffing, Parole, Overdetention, Reduction of Prison Population.
- North Carolina Parole Commission Agrees to Stop “Moving Goalposts” for Prisoners Who Committed Crime as Juveniles, Feb. 1, 2026. Parole Board Misconduct, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Parole, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- SCOTUS Announces MVRA Restitution Constitutes Criminal Punishment Subject to Ex Post Facto Clause Protections, Feb. 1, 2026. Ex Post Facto, Restitution, Constitution, U.S., Statutory Construction/Interpretation.
- Study Finds Parole Hearings and Grants Continue to Fall, Jan. 1, 2026. Parole Board Misconduct, Statistics/Trends, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Parole, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
- First Circuit Announces Modification of Juvenile’s Life-Without-Parole Sentence to Parole-Eligible Life Term Constitutes “New Judgment” Under AEDPA, Exempting Second-in-Time Habeas Petition From Gatekeeping Requirements, Jan. 1, 2026. Parole, Habeas Corpus, Life without Parole (LWOP), AEDPA, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders.
- Ex-Wife of Minnesota DOC Commissioner Sentenced for Poisoning Attempt on Son, Dec. 1, 2025. Out of State Transfers, Sentencing, Conspiracies, Attempts, Solicitations, Confessions and Statements of Defendant, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.

