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Victim Notification
- How can I receive notification about an inmate in prison?
- What services will I receive by registering for notification?
- Can I be notified when an inmate is released from prison?
- How can I protest an inmate’s release and what do I say in my protest letter?
- Can I meet with the Board of Pardons and Paroles?
Victims, their family members, and concerned citizens may request written notification by contacting the Victim Services Division (VSD) through the IVSS online portal, calling our toll free number (800) 848-4284, writing to 8712 Shoal Creek Blvd., Suite 265, Austin, Texas, 78757-6899, or e-mailing victim.svc@tdcj.texas.gov. Notifications include information about an inmate’s parole eligibility, Board decisions, release to and return from bench warrant, discharge dates, along with many other inmate status changes. Any information you supply will remain confidential.
Victim Services Division (VSD) offers letter, e-mail, and text notifications regarding Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) inmates throughout the criminal justice process. We also offer an informational hotline answered by VSD staff Monday thru Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CST at (800) 848-4284.
In addition, we offer e-mails, letters and text message notifications about changes to an inmate’s status. To register for any of these services, please visit our IVSS website. You may also call our toll free number (800) 848-4284, write to our mailing address of 8712 Shoal Creek Blvd, Suite 265, Austin, Texas, 78757-6899, or e-mail victim.svc@tdcj.texas.gov.
In addition, we offer e-mails, letters and text message notifications about changes to an inmate’s status. To register for any of these services, please visit our IVSS website. You may also call our toll free number (800) 848-4284, write to our mailing address of 8712 Shoal Creek Blvd, Suite 265, Austin, Texas, 78757-6899, or e-mail victim.svc@tdcj.texas.gov.
Yes, if registered with the Victim Services Division you will receive written notifications regarding an inmate’s upcoming release. To register for this service, please visit our IVSS website. You may also call our toll free number (800) 848-4284, write to our mailing address of 8712 Shoal Creek Blvd., Suite 265, Austin, Texas, 78757-6899 or e-mail victim.svc@tdcj.texas.gov.
You may submit protest letters to the Victim Services Division at 8712 Shoal Creek Blvd., Suite 265, Austin, Texas 78757-6899 or e-mail victim.svc@tdcj.texas.gov. All protest information is confidential. Protest letters may explain how the offense has affected you or your family members, express any fears or concerns you may have about an inmate’s release and outline any special conditions you would like the Board to consider in the event the inmate is released to supervision.
Victims, as defined in the Chapter 508, Section 508.117 (g) of the Texas Government Code, may request an in-person or phone interview with a voting member of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles when their inmate is being considered for parole review. The interview request must be registered through Victim Services Division. You may visit our IVSS website or contact our office at (800) 848-4284 or by e-mail victim.svc@tdcj.texas.gov to request a board interview. For questions or concerns regarding victim/survivor interactions with the Board of Pardons and Paroles, please contact the BPP Victim Liaison, Libby Hamilton, at bpp-victim.liaison@tdcj.texas.gov or (512) 406-5833.
Additional statutes governing Parole Board interviews are included in Chapter 508, Section 508.153.
Additional statutes governing Parole Board interviews are included in Chapter 508, Section 508.153.
Texas Crime Victim Clearinghouse
- What is the TxCVC?
For information about the TxCVC, please visit the TxCVC page and review the TxCVC Program Brochure.
Victim-Offender Mediation Dialogue (VOMD)
- What is the VOMD?
For information about the VOMD, please visit the VOMD page and review the VOMD Program Brochure.
Victim Impact Panel Program
- How can a victim apply to become a victim impact panelist?
- Does the inmate have to be in prison in order for a victim/survivor to be a panelist?
- What does a victim/survivor gain from being on a victim impact panel?
- Why are victim impact panels used in trainings for criminal justice professionals?
- Why are victim impact panels provided for inmates?
- What should an inmate do when/if court ordered to attend a victim impact panel?
Contact the Victim Services Division office at (800) 848-4284 and ask to speak with the Texas Crime Victim Clearinghouse staff or the Victim Services Division Volunteer Coordinator. Crime victims who wish to volunteer as panelists will need to apply to be a TDCJ approved volunteer.
Not necessarily; however, if charges were filed, the case must have already been adjudicated and the case cannot be pending in the court system. The Victim Services Division will make a determination on cases that are unsolved or never prosecuted.
The road of recovery is a personal journey, and is experienced in various ways by different individuals. Victims who have participated have reported a sense of empowerment and healing as a result of their participation. The main purpose of the program is to provide this forum for victims so they may obtain support, validation and affirmation, and derive whatever healing they can from speaking on a panel.
It is important that professionals in the field of criminal justice are cognizant of victims’ issues and aware of resources and best practices when coming into contact or working with victims. The use of victim impact panels in conjunction with training heightens the criminal justice professional’s awareness and sensitivity to the needs of the victim, and personalizes the effects of crime, reminding the professional that there is ‘another side to the story’.
Victims do not make the choice to become victims, but are involuntarily introduced to the criminal justice system and may suffer a lifetime of painful repercussions from the crime. Panelists help inmates realize the lasting and long-term effects of their crime. This raises awareness and addresses accountability for inmates, many of whom subsequently express remorse for their actions and report having a better understanding of the widespread negative results of criminal behavior.
An inmate should first ask the supervising court or probation department if there is a designated location/date/time to attend a panel. If their sentence is for an alcohol/substance abuse related offense such as DWI, the inmate can also contact the local Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) chapter and inquire whether they conduct regularly scheduled VIPs at a location near them.
Victim Survivors Viewing Executions
- Is execution viewing limited to immediate family members of the deceased?
- How many victim witnesses may view an execution, and can anyone attend the execution without viewing?
- What time do executions take place and where?
- Are victim witnesses prepared for viewing the execution?
- What can an inmate say during their last statement?
- What happens after the execution?
Initially, victim witnesses were limited to immediate family of the deceased. In 1998, at the request of victim survivors, the Texas Board of Criminal Justice revised this rule. The victim’s family is given the opportunity to invite close friends of the deceased or surviving relatives, law enforcement officials, and prosecutors previously involved in the case the opportunity to view. In May 2008, the Board expanded the rule allowing victim witnesses to be accompanied by a spiritual advisor.
When there is one victim, five victim witnesses are allowed to view. With multiple victims, the victim witnesses may be increased to six; however, the victim witness slots are divided evenly between the families of the victims.
If there are multiple victims, the family with the capital murder conviction for which the inmate received the death sentence has priority over the witness slots, with any unused slots going to the families of the other victims whose murder the inmate was undeniably responsible.
Victim witnesses may also have three support person slots per execution. These are persons that may accompany the victim witnesses to Huntsville for support, but must remain in the support room during the execution.
Victim Services Division staff will accompany both victim witnesses and their support persons during the entire execution process.
If there are multiple victims, the family with the capital murder conviction for which the inmate received the death sentence has priority over the witness slots, with any unused slots going to the families of the other victims whose murder the inmate was undeniably responsible.
Victim witnesses may also have three support person slots per execution. These are persons that may accompany the victim witnesses to Huntsville for support, but must remain in the support room during the execution.
Victim Services Division staff will accompany both victim witnesses and their support persons during the entire execution process.
The execution order states that the executions will take place after 6:00 p.m. on the scheduled date. There are times when pending legal issues in the courts or with the Governor may cause the execution to be delayed until the issues are resolved. There have also been occasions when the courts have granted a “stay of execution.”
Yes, the victim witnesses generally meet with a representative of the TDCJ-Victim Services Division on the afternoon of the execution at a designated location in Huntsville, Texas. The witnesses and support persons are advised regarding what to expect from the time they arrive at the prison unit until their departure.
The inmate may say anything during the last statement, or choose not to make a statement. Some have expressed remorse for their crime, addressed their witnesses, and occasionally addressed the victim witnesses. Others have professed their innocence and criticized the criminal justice system.
After the execution, the victim witnesses return to the room where their support persons have stayed during the execution. They are allowed as much time as necessary to share about the experience. The entire group will then be escorted to a media conference, if requested by the victim witnesses, or away from the prison unit. Victim Services staff will make follow-up contact a few weeks after an execution to offer additional assistance as needed.