Tennessee Board of Parole

The Tennessee Board of Parole, formerly known as the Tennessee Board of Pardons and Paroles and Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole, is the state parole board in Tennessee. Description The Board of Parole is an independent state agency led by seven board members appointed by the Governor. The Board has authority under state statute to issue parole to offenders who have served a certain percentage of their sentences, as well as to revoke parole privileges for parolees who fail to follow the rules and standards established for them as conditions of release. The Board also receives and considers requests for executive clemency and makes recommendations to the Governor on the disposition of these requests. Charles Traughber is chairman of the Board of Parole. Except for a two-year period from December 1985 to December 1987, he has served on the Board since 1972. He was its chairman from 1972 to 1976, from 1977 to 1979, and from 1988 to present. History The agency was established in 1961 as a division of the Tennessee Department of Correction, headed by a three-member Board of Probation and Paroles that consisted of the Commissioner of Correction and two part-time board members. The board was expanded to five members in 1963; in 1970 the Commissioner of Correction ceased being a member.