John's wife Fran has been in contact with the presiding Judge in John's original case. He has written the following letter on John's behalf!! April 5, 2016 Texas Department of Criminal Justice Parole Division, P.O. Box 13401 Capitol Station, Austin, TX 78711. Re: Recommendation of Release of John Feathers TDC# 1630630 Dear Parole Board Members: I am now a senior district court judge after having served as an elected member of the judiciary for 32 years, the last 24 years as judge of the 299th District Court of Travis County, Texas. Before my judicial service I was a criminal prosecutor in Travis County. My recommendation in this case is based upon this experience and the fact that in my time as a district judge I probably sentenced over 25,000 defendants and sent approximately 10,000 to prison. In January 2010 I was assigned as a senior district judge to preside over the jury trial in the case The State of Texas vs John Feathers in Williamson County. While the driving while intoxicated case was not particularly noteworthy in that it did not involve any egregious driving or accident because the defendant had an extensive history of driving while intoxicated convictions, including two prior felony convictions, I was required to sentence him to 25 years in the Institutional Division. I thought at that time, and still do today, that this sentence was grossly excessive. I have recently learned that Mr. Feathers is suffering from inoperable pancreatic cancer. For both these reasons I would urge that you immediately release him so he can spend his few remaining days with his family. His further incarceration ill serves the interest of justice and more so, is a financial burden that the taxpayers of our state cannot afford. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me. Respectfully submitted, Jon Wisser