Probation officer gives office BJ to boot-camp teen
If Paroled in Texas, Don't Worry About that Pesky 'Restitution'
Monday, December 8, 2008 at 3:48 pm
According to a special report published on December 2 by the Houston Press, 9 out of 10 Texas parolees never end up paying state-mandated restitution. From Chris Vogel's article: The Houston Press originally intended to investigate restitution payments by probationers and parolees. Probation, run by the county, is given instead of jail or prison; parole, run by the state, is for offenders who are released from prison before their sentence is over. This soon, however, proved to be problematic.
The Press filed a request under the Texas Public Information Act asking for a list of probationers in Harris County over the past five years who had been discharged even though they still owed restitution, including names, how much they paid and owe. The county's Community Supervision & Corrections Department denied the request, saying state district court judges have decided not to release information located in probationers' files, which county attorneys say is allowed under state law.
In Harris County TX alone, the Press discovered that "$928,400 in restitution was never paid." Just over $30,000 was collected -- that amounted to "3.1 percent of the money owed by offenders who were successfully discharged."
Check out the rest of the well-researched and sobering article here.
More links from around the web!
