Accomplished attorney Michael Kennedy McIntyre has been practicing at the Atlanta, Georgia-based law firm Michael Kennedy McIntyre & Associates for more than three decades. The firm focuses exclusively on the area of criminal post-conviction representation. Michael Kennedy McIntyre & Associates assists clients with the restrictions placed on them during and after their sentences. Clients convicted of sexual crimes often struggle more than most with post-conviction restrictions, as they often must register as sex offenders. But changes in Georgia’s laws in 2010 have led to some hope for those individuals. Although the sex offender registry in Georgia is considered lifelong, there are ways under Georgia state law that an offender can be removed from the registry. Most offenders can petition the Superior Court for removal of their names from the state sex offender registry. Before being considered for removal, the offender must have completed all prison, parole, supervised release, and probation for the offense which requires them to register and be classified as a Level I offender or 10 years must has elapsed since the individual has completed their sentences, supervised release, and probation. There are some exceptions to that rule if the offender has significant disabilities, has committed a crime that was later determined to be a misdemeanor, or been convicted of false imprisonment or kidnapping. If the offender has not been classified at the time of the petition for removal from the registry, the judge assigned to hear the petition will order that the Sex Offender Registry Review Board classify the offender.
What You Need to Know About Parole in Georgia
A practicing attorney since 1985, Michael Kennedy McIntyre works with the Georgia-based law firm Michael Kennedy McIntyre & Associates. The work at Michael Kennedy McIntyre & Associates is focused specifically on assisting clients who need criminal post-conviction representation. In the State of Georgia, any offender that is serving a felony sentence and eligible for parole is automatically considered at their parole eligibility date. It is not necessary to apply for parole. Most offenders who are eligible for parole consideration and are not serving a life sentence, are eligible for parole consideration upon serving one-third of their prison sentence, though it is very rare that parole is granted on that exact date. In Georgia, offenders do not go before the Parole Board to plead their case, as no formal parole hearings are held before decisions are made. Instead, the Parole Board members individually consider each eligible offender before casting a vote. The Parole Board can make a decision to parole an offender on a tentative parole date or a decision to deny parole. If parole is denied or if the tentative parole release date is more than 5 years away, the inmate is automatically reconsidered at least every 5 years.
The Opening of the Metro Reentry Facility
Metro State Prison Source: Wikipedia
Michael McIntyre founded Michael Kennedy McIntyre & Associates in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1985. The firm focuses exclusively in the field of postconviction representation. Part of the firm’s representation of its clients is to stay educated regarding any facility changes within the Department of Corrections. One of the most recent facility changes through the Georgia Department of Corrections is the opening of the Metro Reentry Facility.
Metro Reentry Facility in Atlanta, Georgia originally opened in 1980 as Metro State Prison, a facility for male offenders. Metro State Prison switched to all female offenders in 1993 until it closed in 2011. As part of Governor Nathan Deal’s Criminal Justice reform platform, Metro State Prison was repurposed and re-established as Metro Reentry Facility. In August 2018, the Georgia Department of Corrections opened the Metro Reentry Facility. The facility is a transitional state prison for offenders scheduled for release within 18 months. The offenders are referred to as returning citizens at the Metro Reentry Facility. The returning citizens receive intensive counseling, vocational training and housing support in hopes that they will increase their chance of success on parole. The program is targeted to offenders who will be released into the Metro Atlanta counties of Clayton, Cobb, Dekalb, Fulton and Gwinnett. The facility utilizes evidence-based practices and community collaboration to address all barriers for the returning citizens’ successful reentry back into society. Currently, the facility houses approximately 355 offenders and the population will increase to 800 when additional dorm renovations are complete.
Habeas Corpus Petitions in the State of Georgia
Mcintyre & Associates
Image: georgiapostconviction.com
Attorney Michael Kennedy McIntyre founded McIntyre & Associates in 1985. Representing clients in post-conviction cases, McIntyre & Associates help people secure release from confinement through a number of post-conviction options including habeas corpus petitions. Habeas corpus, a writ guaranteed by the Georgia Constitution, is a court-issued relief available to people who prove they have been unlawfully detained. Habeas corpus petitions can be filed in extradition cases, pretrial confinement cases, and post-conviction cases, but the vast majority of petitions are filed in post-conviction cases. A post-conviction habeas corpus petition is filed as a civil action in a superior court. The petitioner contends that he or she is held unlawfully as a result of a sentence imposed following a denial or violation of the petitioner’s constitutional rights during a trial, a guilty plea hearing, or sentencing. In Georgia, the venue for hearing the petition is in the county where the petitioner is detained. If the petitioner is detained in another state, the petition is heard in the county where the conviction was imposed.
