Ex-convicts comment on system
By Sarah Chacko
Staff Reporter

The Community Corrections Forum Thursday night enabled students, faculty and staff to dismiss misconceptions about the probation and parole process from first-hand perspectives, Kelli Stevens, a criminal justice professor and the program coordinator, said.

“Probation and parole are a significant part of the criminal justice system,” Stevens said. “And they’re the least understood.”

Stevens said the forum was intended to give an idea of what community supervision is. The majority of people incorrectly think it is just a slap on the wrist, and not a viable sanction, Stevens said.

The forum presented various facets of community corrections, from a member of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to an ex-offender convicted on drug, assault and weapons charges. Each speaker described their involvement in the corrections process, including programs and tools used to increase success among offender rehabilitation.

Ex-offender Jeff McFatridge now works for Pacific Youth Correctional Ministries. He said his complete turnaround, which he attributed to religion, led him to become a mentor for other offenders. Prison does not teach right from wrong, he said.

“You have to help people realize their potential and purpose,” McFatridge said.

Ken McMeen, a parole supervisor for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, said the two goals of the parole office are to promote public safety and be a positive influence. McMeen said that while it may seem like the media is constantly pointing out cases of people on parole doing heinous crimes, it is actually just a small percentage.

“The people on parole that are successful don’t make for interesting reading in the news,” McMeen said.

Carol Thompson, the sociology, criminal justice and anthropology department chairwoman, said often the only source of information the community receives concerning criminal justice policy and issues comes from high-profile, media-covered cases.

“These kinds of cases aren’t representative of the system or offenders,” Thompson said.

Thompson said this type of forum gives students and community members the opportunity to interface with practitioners and offenders about actual conditions and practices in the system.

“It’s an all around great setting for information exchange,” Thompson said. “The criminal justice system isn’t trivialized or vilified in this forum. Rather, it is presented realistically.”

Ashley Lucas, a junior finance major, said the forum gave her a basic understanding of the criminal justice process.

“It’s really interesting to see how people are filtered through the system,” Lucas said. “Things like where different types of criminals go, like the mentally ill, and what happens to them and how they are monitored.”

Sarah Chacko