Is Early Release of Probation Possible
My question involves criminal law for the state of: Texas
First let me apologize for my lack of knowledge regarding law practice and language.
My husband was convicted of a 3rd degree felony involving attempted indecency with a child. The teenager who accused him was asleep and claimed she felt pressure on her shorts/underwear and heard her name whispered. She changed her story several times and continued to add/delete details up to the trial date. We were appointed a lawyer who for two years had minimal contact with us and did not answer most of our questions and concerns. Long story short, our lawyer advised my husband to accept the plea bargain for 6 years probation, deferred adjudication. My husband and I were adamant that he not go to jail as a child molester and the lawyer made a point of letting us know it was a very real possibility, so we accepted the plea bargain. Immediately after the trial my husband took some kind of psych test that showed he was not sexually attracted to minors and he passed two polygraph tests that he did not do what he was accused of. Because of this he did not have to register as a sex offender. He was ordered to go to sex offender treatment but after 3-4 months they released him from the program. He has never violated his probation and all fees have been paid. He has a year and a half left so we have begun looking into early release of probation but I am not even sure if he is eligible since it is a sex offense. And if he is eligible, should we even attempt it? How likely is it he would actually get it? My husband's concern is that if he gets denied the early probation, the prosecutor will then 'go after' him and watch him until he violates the 1000 ft rule while passing some street he doesn't even know is close to park and throw him in jail. My husband's probation officer vaguely answers his questions regarding these topics which makes my husband more ominous about even asking for early release.
Thank you for reading this. I have been very frustrated with the whole process and am ready to put it behind me. I have never been able to get any clear answers regarding early release so any advice would be much appreciated.
Thank you.
Re: Is Early Release of Probation Possible
As I general rule, I will never tell a defendant that he is eligible for early release. I tell them that they have the right to motion their case at any time for any concern that they may have.
Being that this is your husband, I will try to be as polite as possible. There are two really convincing liars in this game: the domestic batterer and the sex offender. The truth is, you were not there at the time that he committed this offense. You don't know what really happened. All you have is his word. Secondly, you mentioned that he was released from sex offender treatment after 3-4 months. You didn't mention if he was discharged because he satisfactorily met the program's completion criteria or if he was let go becasue because of non-compliance. Even if he does satisfactorily complete the program, that does not translate to him being cured. No program will guarantee that he is cured of deviance.
He paid all of his fees. So what?!? That is the simplest thing to comply with. The treatment and the offense is what the judge wants to monitor. A lot of recidivism occurs once the defendant gets comfortable and that often happens towards the tail end of the order.
There is also a big difference from being a sex offender and a pedophile. Saying that he is not attracted to minors is vague and leaves wiggle room for ambiguity to his true deviant behaviors.
All things considered, early termionation of a sex offender's order is slim. Too much liability if he re-offends.
Re: Is Early Release of Probation Possible
Thank you for your reply. I have no doubt when my husband says he did not do what he was accused of. And I do not feel I need to prove anything to you, one way or another. He was released from sex offender treatment because he completed it. I merely mentioned that he paid his fees in passing so that whoever read this would have a clearer idea of where we stand. I was not bragging or saying that he SHOULD be released. The whole point of my posting was to ask of the likelihood of him getting early release. Not for your opinion concerning his case. I came to this forum to ask my questions and get answers, not your attitude.
Re: Is Early Release of Probation Possible
Tranquilo my friend. I am telling things that court takes into consideration when examining a defendant's request. My response to anyone's inquiry is a unbiased as possible. However, you may not like the way they come out. And I pride myself on haveing a pleasant disposition and outstanding attitude. What's wrong with my attitude darnit?