Writing a victim impact statement for a parole hearing

What is different at parole

At a parole hearing, a board decides whether the person who did this is released, often many years after sentencing. Your statement speaks to the board members rather than a judge.

In some states more people can send a statement than at sentencing. California says any person may submit a written statement for a parole hearing. In Texas, anyone can send written protest material, but only registered victims can meet with the board.

Parole reviews can come up more than once, so families often write again for each one. Keeping your sentencing statement helps, because you can start from it.

Register for notice first

To hear about a parole hearing in time, register with your state’s victim office for the prison system or parole board. In California that is the Office of Victim and Survivor Rights and Services; in Texas it is the Victim Services Division of the Department of Criminal Justice. Your victim advocate can tell you which office handles your state.

In Texas, a first parole review starts about 4–6 months before the vote, and later reviews about 4 months before, so registering early gives you time to write.

Written or spoken

California and Texas both accept a written statement, and both also let victims speak. California recommends writing your statement on paper, and lets you speak at the hearing by calling its victim office when the hearing notice arrives. Victims there speak last, just before the panel decides, and statements usually run 5–15 minutes.

Texas offers registered victims a 20-minute meeting with the lead voter on the parole panel, in person, by video or by phone. The board says the meeting is for a statement of your views about the crime, the person in prison and the effects of the crime, and is not an interview. The person in prison is not there. Texas says what you send is confidential.

Other states have their own rules, so ask your state’s victim office how to send your statement and by when.

What to write about

A parole statement covers the same ground as one at sentencing, plus what the years since have been like and how you feel about release. California’s guide asks about emotional effects, injuries, counseling costs and lost wages, and also invites details of the crime you want the panel to know, which differs from sentencing.

Texas’s parole board suggests writing about any fears or concerns about release, what you have been through because of the crime, and anything else you want the board to consider.

• Who you are, and who the person who died was, if someone died.
• How the crime has affected you and your family over the years.
• Your health, work and money since then.
• Any fears about your safety or your family’s if the person is released.
• Anything else you want the board to consider.

Details to include and to leave out

In Texas, note the person’s name and prison number on everything you send, as the parole board asks. Leave out your own address, workplace and routines, because rules on who sees parole statements differ by state.

This site is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. Your victim advocate or your state’s victim office can help you. You can write your parole statement here by answering questions in your own words; your answers stay on your device, and writing, seeing and printing your statement cost nothing.

Questions