The inmates are not present, but their advocates are. So are their victims, if the board can find them and if they choose to come. Finding victims is a big part of the new rules and procedures, which now require a detailed account of precisely what parole agents did to track down each victim. In many cases, it isn't easy. Years have passed.
Victims move, get married, change their names.
In some cases, it hasn't been done well. In the Gosha and Bighames cases, a victim from North Alabama says she was never notified of the first hearing date. She had to learn from her friend and fellow victim. No one speaks for the victims, but the board is told the crimes occurred in the family during a heated divorce. There is a hint they didn't happen at all.