Clements: Soft on Crime?

Governor Bill Clements still talks a good law-and-order line, but changes in the parole law a few months before his election are beginning to make him appear soft on crime.

Since Clements took office in January, there have been nearly 4,000 paroles granted – only a few hundred short of the number granted in all of 1978, The reason seems to be a small alteration in parole law, enacted last year: Before 1978, the final word on paroles rested with the state parole board in Austin. Now the majority vote rests with the parole commissioners, who are based at the state’s largest penitentiary, in Huntsville.

The problem has become so acute that Clements was forced to hire an extra lawyer just to handle the backlog, which is now delaying parole privileges by as much as two weeks. The new law has not caused an increase in the number of paroles requested, though legal observers feel it is only a matter of time.