Whenever the Board of Parole Hearings would deem residents suitable for parole, such residents might not necessarily leave the facility after the customary wait period of 120 to 150 days.
“The decision at your hearing to grant or deny you parole is a recommended decision,” stated the Board of Parole Hearings fact sheet. “The recommended decision goes through the ‘decision review’ process. If the decision is to grant you parole, then the Board of Parole Hearings and the Governor automatically review the decision.”
In addition, Section 2.27, “Board’s Review of Hearing Panel’s Decision,” states, “All decisions by a hearing panel at a parole hearing are proposed decisions, meaning they are not final. Proposed decisions will become final within 120 calendar days from the date of the parole hearing. During the 120 calendar days following a parole hearing…the decision may be reviewed by the Board’s legal division.”
This rule can lead to other events unfolding, such as an En Banc Review, and Recession Hearings, which can create up to an additional yearlong wait from the initial suitability finding. Many residents might not know about these delays.
Residents who pass the governor’s review must still reach their minimum sentence dates. Most residents about to parole must reach the Minimum Eligible Parole Date, commonly known as the MEPD. Paroling youth must wait until their Youth Parole Eligible Date and elderly residents for their Elderly Parole Date. Nonviolent offenders must reach their Nonviolent Parole Eligible Date.
The BPH will schedule most residents up to 13 months ahead of their MEPD for their initial hearing date. According to CDCR data, this delay would prevent backlogs. Residents suitable during their initial hearing would likely remain in custody for another 11 months.
Residents can reduce their MEPD by earning rehabilitation activity credits up to 40 days per year, and milestone credits up to six months per year, the fact sheet states. Reducing one’s MEPD date with rehabilitative credits may improve one’s chances of a favorable parole grant at an initial hearing.
According to the BPH’s “Just the Facts” explanatory addendum, “The percentage of grants given at an initial hearing has increased significantly since 2014. In 2022, 38% of all grants were given at initial hearings, more than twice the percentage of hearings in 2017.”
“Persons whose hearing date was moved up because of the Board’s Administrative Review process had the highest grant rate in 2022, with 58% of hearings held resulting in a grant,” stated the BPH fact sheet.
The fact sheet stated that an independent review conducted by the California Committee on Revision of the Penal code indicated that the committee “found no difference in outcomes based on race and ethnicity,” which held true on initial or subsequent hearings.
