Opinion ID: 770891
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: I. Code Ann. tit. 5, S 4601 (emphasis added).

Text: 8 Callwood has served over 10 years of his 45-year sentence, and, as we construe his petition, he now seeks a recommendation by the Directors of the Bureau of Corrections to the Board of Parole so that the Board of Parole can exercise its discretion in fixing a date for his release on parole. 9 By letter dated June 23, 1997, the warden at the Lewisburg penitentiary, where Callwood was housed at the time he filed his petition, informed the Virgin Islands Bureau of Corrections of Callwood's desire for parole consideration. In the letter, the warden stated that Callwood has completed 10 years of his sentence and that [a] psychological evaluation completed on May 2, 1997, indicates Inmate Callwood is an individual capable of maintaining responsible and regulation abiding behavior. The letter was accompanied by Callwood's Progress Report, issued by the United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons. By letter dated July 8, 1997, another warden of the Lewisburg penitentiary informed the Virgin Islands Board of Parole of the same. Callwood has heard no response from either the Virgin Islands Directors of Corrections or Board of Parole. In his petition, Callwood requests that the court [o]rder that the Bureau of Correction fix an earlier parole eligibility date under 5 V.I.C. 4601, thereby ordering the V.I. Parole Board to grant [Callwood] a hearing to consider his release on parole. Pet. filed Nov. 6, 1997, at 10. 10 The District Court transferred the petition to this court to be treated as an application to file a second or successive petition under 28 U.S.C. S 2255. See 28 U.S.C. S 2244 (requiring an order of the court of appeals authorizing the district court to consider a second or successive petition under S 2255). On March 31, 1998, we issued an order stating the following: 11 The foregoing application to file a successive 28 U.S.C. S 2255 motion is denied as unnecessary. Because petitioner wishes to challenge parole processes, he must proceed under V.I. Code Ann. tit. 5, SS 1301-1325. Bennett v. Soto, 850 F.2d 161, 163 (3d Cir. 1988). The clerk is directed to transfer the petition to the District Court of the Virgin Islands. The district court shall hear the petition in accordance with V.I. Code Ann. tit. 5, SS 1301-1325. 12 By order dated May 19, 1998, the District Court denied Callwood's petition on the merits. Callwood timely appealed.