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Crime Victims Remain High Priority
Georgia Parole Review Winter 2026/Fall 2025
The State Board of Pardons and Paroles ensures crime victims' information is considered during the parole decision-making process. Conducting Victim Impact Sessions (VIS) have proven to be a resource that provides the Board with the latest views of the victim.
Working with the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia, the Board has invited Georgia prosecutors to request a Victim Impact Session be conducted in their circuit.
The VIS is a collaboration involving the district attorney, the Georgia Office of Victim Services (GOVS), and the Parole Board.
A Parole Board Member, staff from GOVS, and from the Board's Pre-Release Considerations Division will speak in person with the victim to receive information. The information is confidential, documented, and added to the offender case file available for the individual Board Members to review during parole consideration.
District Attorneys desiring a VIS can contact the GOVS at victimservices@pap.ga.gov.
“These sessions exist to ensure that crime victims’ information is fully considered and included in the parole file. As parole board members, we are committed to having all relevant information before us when making parole decisions." - Joyette Holmes, Chair of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles.
“You can’t prepare yourself fully to understand what these victims continue to go through but as Board Members making parole decisions, it is very important to receive this information first-hand." - Wayne Bennett, Vice Chair