The Texas parole board has started removing the sex offender status from thousands of parolees who've never been convicted of a sex crime.
The policy change stems from a recent Texas appeals court ruling.
The Austin American-Statesman reports that as many as 6,900 parolees could be affected.
Some had been caught urinating in public years earlier, for example. Others faced sex-related charges from an angry ex-spouse who later recanted.
For years, state officials have fought in court against giving parolees a hearing before deeming them as sex offenders.
But a Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruling in May has changed everything. It said the parole board can't brand a prisoner as a sex offender without a conviction for a sex-related crime.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
