Thompson v. Rodriguez

Lawrence Edward Thompson appeals from the district courts dismissal of his action against Victor Rodriguez, chairman of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, and other defendants. Thompson, an inmate in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division, alleged that Rodriguez and the Board of Pardons and Paroles, among other things, violated his civil rights under 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983 (West Supp. 2002) by arbitrarily and capriciously denying him parole, by retroactively applying amended policies and procedures to deny him parole, by making it more difficult for him to gain parole because of his religious beliefs, and by refusing him parole in retaliation for his legal and religious activities.