Information Considered at a Parole Suitability Hearing

The purpose of a parole suitability hearing is to determine whether an incarcerated person currently poses an unreasonable risk of danger to society if released from prison. In making this determination, the hearing panel will consider all relevant, reliable information available to the panel, statements from the offender, victims, victims’ family, and statements from the district attorney’s office and the public.

The panel will review and ask the incarcerated person questions about their social history, past and present mental state, past and present attitude toward the crime, criminal history, and other criminal misconduct that has been reliably documented, as well as the person’s commitment offense(s). The panel will also consider the person’s behavior before, during, and after the crime(s). In addition, the hearing panel will consider special conditions under which the incarcerated person may safely be released to the community and any other information which bears on the person’s suitability for release.

There are a number of factors the Board will consider that tend to show an person’s suitability and unsuitability for parole. These factors are general guidelines and “the importance attached to any circumstance or combination of circumstances in a particular case is left to the judgment of the panel.” Additionally, the California Supreme Court has held that “the presence or absence of insight is a significant factor in determining whether there is a rational nexus between the person’s dangerous past behavior and the threat the offender currently poses to public safety.” Some examples of factors the Board will consider include the following: