Georgia Parole Guidelines Calculator

Information about the Georgia Parole Guidelines Calculator

Please share this app.
This app was last updated to be current with the latest parole board rules and statutes in September, 2019. If you do ever notice an updated Parole Board rule or statute, please contact the developer so we can all use the latest information.
Applicability (decision date): This calculator applies to all parole decisions made after June 30, 2017. You cannot use this calculator to check a decision made before July 1, 2017.
Applicability (offense date): This calculator applies to all offense dates. This new parole guidelines system applies to all crimes committed after December 31, 2005. It also applies to all older crimes, although many of the pre-2006 crimes that would now rank as Level VIII crimes do require special handling. The parole board lists on its website those specific crimes that must use the Crime Severity Level they would have been assigned by the pre-2006 guidelines. Then the remainder of this new guidelines system is applied to that older Level. All of this is handled by this calculator - if you select one of the listed crimes, with an offense date before 2006, you will be prompted to use the "old" calculator.
Applicability (sentence type): This calculator does not apply to life sentences; the parole board uses a completely different analysis for such sentences (more info about parole for life sentences). This calculator also does not apply to fourth-strike recidivist sentences, as such sentences are not eligible for parole. O.C.G.A. § 17-10-7(c). But see O.C.G.A. § 42-9-45(b)(3-4) (narrow exception for recidivist-sentenced drug offenders who meet stringent criteria); O.C.G.A. § 42-9-43(b) (the Parole Board can grant a medical reprieve to "an entirely incapacitated person suffering a progressively debilitating terminal illness" who is expected to die within a year); and GA CONST Art. 4, § 2, ¶ II(e) (the Parole Board retains the power, which it has apparently never used, to parole anyone once they reach age 62).
Mobile devices: For easiest use, add the parole calculator web app to your mobile device's home screen. You can then access and use it like any of your other apps.

With the parole calculator open...
Android: tap the icon in the Chrome browser...

Apple: tap the icon in the Safari browser...
then tap "Add to Home screen"
Computers: For easiest use, set a bookmark/favorite in your browser.
This web app should work equally well on all devices: desktops, laptops, tablets, and phones.
This web app is designed to work entirely offline. You only have to be connected to the internet the first time you load it. Whenever you do happen to open this app while connected, the app will automatically check for any updates. But otherwise the absence of an internet connection will have no effect.
All data collection and processing is done locally, on your device. Other than the contact form below, none of the information you enter, or your results, is transmitted over the internet.
This web app uses well under 1 MB of your device's storage to ensure offline availability. This is a tiny amount compared to most apps; equivalent to the space used to store a photo.
Our Secretary of State restricts our laws from being freely distributed to the public. So I cannot risk sharing them with you. But if you want to see the regulation that governs most of this, you can view it yourself on the Secretary of State's website.
Please contact the developer if you have any suggestions or ideas.

Return to the calculator

This calculator applies without exception to all parole decisions made by the Parole Board after June 30, 2017, regardless of the offense date. For details on how the calculator handles older crimes, and which sentences have limited parole-eligibility, click "app info" at the bottom of the calculator.

Gender of prisoner?

"Current Prison Conviction Primary Offense: Property" Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 475-3-.05(8)(b) & (9)(b).

The Parole Board has provided this helpful list of crimes it will treat as "property" crimes:
Arson; Bad Checks; Illegal Use or Possession - Credit Card; Burglary (residential/building including attempted); Chop Shop Violation; Computer Trespass; Conversion of Payments for Real Property; Counterfeit Stamps; Criminal Damage to Property; Damage, Destroy or Secret Property; Defrauding State; Entering Vehicle; Financial Identity Fraud; Forgery (including attempted); Forgery Credit Card; Fraud (all types); Fraudulent Access Computer; Fraudulent Checks/Credit Card; Lottery Violation; Manufacture or Alter Stamps/Possess Unauthorized Stamps; Possess Contraband Articles; Receive Goods or Services Fraudulently Obtained; Removal of Baggage, Cargo, etc.; Sell Unstamped Cigarettes/Cigars; Steal or Alter Public Documents; Theft by Taking (all types including attempted); Transport Contraband Articles; Unauthorized Distribution of Record Devices; Vandalism to Church, etc.; Viol. Ga. Securities Act.

"Current Prison Admission Type: Parole/Probation Revocation" Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 475-3-.05(8)(c) & (9)(c).

"GDC Validated Gang Member" Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 475-3-.05(8)(f). Note that this risk factor is applied only to male inmates.

"GDC Violent DR [disciplinary report] Charge During any Incarceration Period" Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 475-3-.05(8)(h) & (9)(g).

The Parole Board has provided this helpful list of DRs it will treat as "violent":
Assault Employee/Inmate/Officer/Visitor; Assault Without Weapon; Conspire/Plan Disturbance/Strike; Death of Employee/Inmate/Officer/Visitor; Injury to Employee/Officer/Visitor; Injury to Inmate/Oneself; Participation in Disturbance/Strike; Possession of Weapon; Possession of Ammunition; Project Body Fluids; Project Lethal Item; Project Nuisance Item; Sexual Assault; Shooting; Stabbing; Threat With Item/Weapon; Threats Through Mail; Using a Hostage; Verbal/Gesture Threatening.

"Number [of] Georgia Felony Arrest Events before Current Prison Episode" Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 475-3-.05(8)(d) & (9)(d).

The Parole Board has clarified that "[i]f GCIC/NCIC has the crime severity level (i.e., misdemeanor or felony) listed as unknown, it is not counted as an arrest. Arrests are counted as events only and events that include both F and M arrests are counted as one (1) felony arrest. The number of felony and misdemeanor arrest events include the arrest(s) leading to the current prison episode."

Note that the best available information indicates that the parole board includes all "probation" arrests in this total, and not merely initial arrests.

total felony arrests.

"Number [of] Georgia Misdemeanor Arrest Events before Current Prison Episode" Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 475-3-.05(8)(e) & (9)(e).

Note that the best available information indicates that the parole board includes all "probation" arrests in this total, and not merely initial arrests.

total misdemeanor arrests.

"Age at Current Prison Admission" Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 475-3-.05(8)(g) & (9)(f).

years old on entry into prison.

Most serious offense(s):

Current Incarceration Offense?

Only one offense is required by the calculator; the parole board considers only the most serious offense. But you can enter up to three offenses, in case you are not sure which offense is the most serious. If you do enter more than one offense, the calculator will sort them for you by Crime Severity Level, and also provide the Crime Severity Level for each offense.

"Offenders considered for parole using the Parole Decision Guidelines System who are incarcerated for an offense or offenses not otherwise specified in this rule will be assigned the Crime Severity Level of the specified offense most similar to their most serious offense. Attempted Level II through Level VII offenses will be assigned the Crime Severity Level one level below that of the consummated offense." Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 475-3-.05(18).

Get Guidelines Recommendation

There are three possible Risk Levels: low, medium, and high. This Risk Level, together with the Crime Severity Level, determines the ultimate Parole Guidelines Recommendation. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 475-3-.05(10-17)(b-d). You can and should double-check this Risk Level with the Parole Board's own calculator.

* Note that this app provides additional information not provided by the Board's calculator: a rough idea of the location within the Risk Level. This location does not correspond with the range of months in the guidelines recommendation. This information is provided only so you will be aware whether your result is close to a different level.

Risk Level:

The Parole Board has assigned this level to the selected crime(s). The possible levels range from Level I to Level VIII. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 475-3-.05(10-17)(a).

Crime Severity Level:

This should be the recommendation the Parole Board will consider, if it answers the above questions the same way you did. This information is from the grid published by the Board. The Board uses this recommendation to determine a Tentative Parole Month. Please note that the Board does not always follow the recommendation. For example, the Board says it followed the recommendation 82% of the time in fiscal year 2016. But note that in 2016 the Board was using a different scoring system, so it is hard to predict the future rate.

Guidelines Recommendation:

Important: The Parole Board informs us that these guidelines recommendations do not apply to short sentence cases (generally cases with incarceration of roughly 24 months or less). There is little public documentation of this, but you can see in its annual reports that the Board specifies three different categories of cases: life sentenced cases, guideline cases, and short sentence cases. The Board in short sentence cases applies a less rigid, totality of the circumstances approach, the particulars of which the Board does not specify. But it is a fair guess that the decision is largely influenced by crime severity and criminal history, and that the risk level and the crime severity level generated by this calculator (but not the guidelines recommendation) could give you a rough idea of how the Board would view the case.

For all the sentences to which this calculator applies (not life or recidivist sentences - see "app info" below), ...

... "an inmate serving a felony sentence or felony sentences shall only be eligible for consideration for parole after the expiration of nine months of his or her sentence or one-third of the time of the sentences, whichever is greater."
... "inmates serving sentences aggregating 21 years or more shall become eligible for consideration for parole upon completion of the service of seven years."

O.C.G.A. § 42-9-45(b)(2). But see O.C.G.A. § 42-9-46 (the Parole Board has the power, if it chooses, to consider parole prior to these time limitations).

"Inmates serving prison sentences for sex crimes and crimes against minors will receive a risk assessment evaluation prior to a final decision to grant parole to determine the likelihood that he or she will engage in another sex crime or a crime against a minor." Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 475-3-.05(19).

show disclaimers

app info

contact

Disclaimers

This calculator might have errors.

This calculator deals with intense subject matter. It deals with the question of how long a person might be in prison. But perhaps more importantly, information about parole impacts life-changing decisions, such as whether or not to accept plea offers. The developer of this calculator has tried to make it accurate, but everybody makes mistakes sometimes. If you care about this subject matter, then you presumably care enough to double-check these results. You can find all the information you need to check these results at https://pap.georgia.gov/parole-consideration-eligibility-guidelines. And you should use the Parole Board's own calculator to verify the Risk Level portion of your results. If you do find an error in this calculator, please help us all out and contact the developer so it can be fixed.

If you do not bother to double-check the results generated by this calculator, then you have nobody to blame but yourself.

I understand the risk that there might be hidden errors within this calculator. By clicking below I specifically release all involved with the development and distribution of this calculator from liability for any and all such errors.

This calculator only provides a portion of the many parole laws.

This calculator provides helpful information about some of the statutes applicable to some of the offenses you might select. But it does not by any means include all of the Georgia statutes impacting parole. You need to be aware that there might be other statutes limiting or otherwise impacting the decision the Parole Board will make in any given case.

I understand the that there are numerous statutes that impact parole eligibility, and that many of them are not included in this calculator. By clicking below I specifically release all involved with the development and distribution of this calculator from liability for any and all such omissions.

The Parole Board might use different information.

This calculator obviously returns different results if you enter different data. The Parole Board might answer any of the questions differently than you do. If the Board does, it will receive a different Guidelines Recommendation. If you believe the Board relied upon incorrect information, it is possible to challenge those results.

"After the Board notifies the inmate of their decision, the inmate may contest either the Crime Severity Level or Risk to Re-Offend scores by writing within 30 days the Parole Guidelines Subject Matter Expert in the Board's Central Office." Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 475-3-.05(5).

But if an answer for any of the questions is debatable, or if for any reason you are not sure of the answer the Board will select, then you should have an additional concern about the result of this calculator. And even if you think you are sure, it remains possible that the Board will still disagree with you.

I know that I cannot depend upon the Guidelines Recommendation, because the Parole Board might answer the questions differently. By clicking below I specifically release all involved with the development and distribution of this calculator from liability for any unexpected Board decisions.

The Parole Board might ignore these results.

The Parole Board calculates results based on the same factors as this calculator, and it does at least consider those results when it decides if and when to grant parole.

"In considering parole for persons who will become statutorily eligible for parole consideration and who are serving less than a life sentence, the Board shall review a recommendation as to months to serve. This recommendation will be obtained from the Parole Decision Guidelines system which accounts for the severity of the crime and the inmate's risk to re-offend." Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 475-3-.05(5).

But the Board does not have to follow the results it does receive.

"The Parole Decision Guidelines System is an aid to the Board in making more consistent, soundly based and explainable parole decisions and does not create a liberty interest. The Board specifically reserves the right to exercise its discretion under Georgia Law to disagree with the recommendation resulting from application of the Parole Decision Guidelines and may make an independent decision to deny parole or establish a Tentative Parole Month at any time prior to sentence expiration." Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 475-3-.05(5).

For example, the Board said in an April 12, 2017, press release that it had followed the recommendation 82% of the time in fiscal year 2016. But note that the Board members change, and even the scoring system changes, so it is hard to predict the future rate. All we can say for certain is that sometimes the Board follows the Guidelines Recommendation, and sometimes the Board does not.
It is also a real possibility, as demonstrated by past experience, that the Board will at some point in the future make significant changes to the Guidelines system. If the Board does so, the results generated now by this calculator will obviously not be applicable.
But knowing what the Board might do is better than knowing nothing at all. This calculator was developed to tell us only what the Board might do.

I know that I cannot depend upon the Guidelines Recommendation, because the Parole Board can choose to ignore it, or even to change the entire Guidelines system. By clicking below I specifically release all involved with the development and distribution of this calculator from liability for any unexpected Board decisions.

The Parole Board has nothing to do with this calculator.

The developer of this calculator has no connection to the Parole Board. And the Parole Board had nothing whatsoever to do with the development of this calculator.

This calculator is provided with no warranty of any kind.

This calculator, all of its code, and all of its accompanying information, is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose and/or non-infringement. Neither the developer nor the distributors of this calculator are liable to any person for any errors or inaccuracies.

I accept ALL risks, including not only those listed above but also all other possible risks, both known and unknown, and I RELEASE EVERYONE INVOLVED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF THIS CALCULATOR FROM ALL LIABILITY.

Optional: I understand all of these disclaimers so thoroughly that I do not want to see them again for 90 days.

Information About Parole for Life Sentences

Life without parole really means no parole.

"For a first conviction of a serious violent felony in which the accused has been sentenced to imprisonment for life without parole, that person shall not be eligible for any form of parole or early release administered by the State Board of Pardons and Paroles or for any earned time, early release, work release, leave, or other sentence-reducing measures under programs administered by the Department of Corrections."
O.C.G.A. § 17-10-6.1(c)(3). But see O.C.G.A. § 42-9-43(b) (the Parole Board can nevertheless release "an entirely incapacitated person suffering a progressively debilitating terminal illness" who is expected to die within a year).

The information below only applies to standard sentences of life.

A. If sentenced to life for a "serious violent felony"

Serious violent felonies are: aggravated child molestation, aggravated sexual battery, aggravated sodomy, armed robbery, kidnapping, murder, and rape. O.C.G.A. § 17-10-6.1(a). First considered for parole after serving:

Crime commit date (version of statutes applicable)	If single or concurrent life sentence for a "serious violent felony." O.C.G.A. § 17-10-6.1(c)(1)	If consecutive life sentences, and one is for murder. O.C.G.A. § 42-9-39(c)
on or after July 1, 2006:	30 years.	60 years.
on or after January 1, 1995:	14 years. But see O.C.G.A. § 42-9-39(b) (25 years if murder and had previously served a life sentence).	10 years per consecutive life sentence, up to 30 years total.
before January 1, 1995:	7 years.	7 years.

B. If sentenced to life but not for a "serious violent felony" (sentenced to life for a drug crime):

None of the above limitations apply. First considered for parole after serving the seven year limitation of O.C.G.A. § 42-9-45(b)(2).

Parole on a life sentence is rare.

The Parole Board releases its statistics for life-sentence paroles (see page 20 of the 2017 annual report), and it is not generous. For those life-sentenced inmates who were lucky enough to have their parole consideration come up from 2013 through 2017, the answer was "no" over 88% of the time.

There is no simple formula for life-sentence parole decisions.

Parole for life sentences is not governed by the guidelines system. O.C.G.A. § 42-9-40(a). There is no way to predict what the Board will do in any given case. The best we can say is that this is the "information that may be in the parole file that the Board Members can consider when determining if someone receives parole" (as listed on page 18 of the 2017 annual report):

aggravating circumstances
victim impact statements
prosecutor/judicial statements
legal investigations, including details/circumstances of the crime(s)
the parole guidelines recommendation, if applicable [not applicable to life sentences]
inmate progress reports
inmate interviews
program completions/failures
prison conduct
inmate disciplinary reports
amount of the prison sentence served
inmate's mental health status and progress
if probation is to be served after confinement
offender's age at the crime commit date
prior parole considerations
number of prior arrests
number of prior felonies
prior revocations
prior incarcerations
personal history statement
the parole release plan

When is parole next considered, if parole is denied to a life-sentenced inmate?

It is rare for life-sentenced inmates to be granted parole when they are first eligible. So when are they considered again? Up to eight years later:
"Reconsideration of those inmates serving life sentences who have been denied parole shall take place at least every eight years."
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 475-3-.05(2).

Return to the calculator