Obama and prisoners

I posted this to a message board on December 8, 2008:

My uncle is a felon and currently in a federal prison in southern Texas for multiple bank robberies and repeat offenses. He claims to support laissez-faire economics and is a Francophile, he has liberal social views and hates organized religion. He thinks the most important issues are the economy and education and that Democrats put more emphasis on them. Although he was surprised by John Stossel's idea that government has a monopoly on education. He wanted Obama to win the election. He recently wrote me a letter and this is what he said:

I'm glad the election is over. You should hear all of the blacks here. All talk is about how Obama will bring back parole and increase good time. I think he has a lot more to worry about than prisoners.

It seems like during the election there was speculation about allowing prisoners to vote, but that's [all] I recall about them. I'm not familiar with some of the criminal terms, so I found a website:

Good time: Many defendants who are incarcerated can earn "good behavior" or "good time" credits, which allow them to qualify for an earlier release date by behaving. The idea is that model prisoners are less likely to re-offend, and that prisoners will behave better if they have an incentive not to cause trouble. Some prisoners will not be eligible for "good time," due to the nature of their offenses. Often "habitual offenders" are not eligible for "good time" credits. Some jurisdictions have abolished "good time" for all prisoners.

Parole: Parole is a privilege, not a right, and many prisoners are refused parole when they first apply. Parole boards expect to hear a prisoner admit responsibility for his crimes. They also expect that the prisoner will take advantage of the programs made available in prison, such as, if appropriate, GED programs, Alcoholics Anonymous, and vocational training. They will also look at the prisoner's conduct during incarceration, and whether the prisoner has been cited for misconduct.