Download Chapter Eight: Parole: Early Release and Reintegration

CHAPTER 8
PAROLE: EARLY RELEASE AND REINTEGRATION
Chapter Objectives
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Present a brief history of American parole development.
Understand the function of parole in the criminal justice system.
Define parole and explain the parole decision-making process.
Describe the characteristics of the parole population.
Explain the circumstances under which parole may be revoked.
Summarize current issues in parole.
Chapter Outline
Parole as Part of the Criminal Justice System
 Parole is the conditional release of a prison inmate, prior to sentence expiration,
with supervision in the community.
Historical Overview
 Concept of parole developed in the 18th-century from the practice of
indentured servitude.
 The indentured servant had to comply with certain conditions to remain in
supervised “freedom.”
 Maconochie was a British Navy Captain who developed a “ticket of
leave” system, which moved inmates through stages: imprisonment,
conditional release, and complete restoration of liberty.
Early American Parole Development
 First legislation authorizing parole was enacted in Massachusetts in
1837.
 By 1889, 12 states had implement parole programs; by 1944, all 48
states had enacted parole legislation.
Parole Development in the Early 20th Century
 The Wickersham Commission issued a report in 1931 that
advocated uniformity in state parole practices by recommending
that states establish centralized policymaking boards to write
standards and guidelines for parole practices.
o Essential elements:
 Indeterminate sentence law permitting conditional
early release
 Provision of quality release preparation
 Familiarity by the parole officer with the home and
environmental conditions of the offender
 Sufficient staffing levels to ensure an adequate
number of parole officers to supervise parolees.
Parole Development in the Late 20th Century
 Opposition to parole resurfaced in the 1960s and 1970s.
 In the 1970s, research indicated that prison rehabilitation programs
had few positive benefits.
 1987, the American Probation and Parole Association voiced its
support of parole and objected to efforts to abolish it.
 By the year 2000, 16 states and the federal government had
abolished it, and another four states had abolished discretionary
parole release for certain violent offenses or other crimes against a
person.
The Parole Process
Eligibility
TIP: Who do the students believe should be eligible for parole? Are
there offenders that should have to serve their entire sentences?
Reentry Preparation
 All states have some type of prisoner reentry programming, but they
differ on a number of important dimensions
 Reentry programs often include exposure to education, job readiness
programs, and substance abuse counseling.
 There are many barriers to successful reentry for prisoners.
 What can be done to make reentry easier/more successful?
TIP: Discuss how likely to students would be able to “start over”
if there were given $200 and one small bag of personal items.
Could they find a place to live, a job, and other necessities with so
little to start with?
Granting parole – The Paroling Authority
 The paroling authority’s decision to grant or deny parole is partially
based on its assessment of potential risk to the community.
 The most important factors in the decision to grant to deny parole
tends to be the nature of the inmate’s offense and the inmate’s prior
criminal record, attitude toward the victim, institutional adjustment,
and insight into the causes of past criminal conduct.
 State parole boards determine the actual duration of incarceration and
exercise discretionary release and revocation powers.
Granting Parole – The Hearing
 Parolee hearings are usually attended by the applicant, the institutional
representative, and hearing examiners or parole boards members.
Types of Parole
 Mandatory
 Discretionary
Characteristics of Parolees
 Ninety-five percent of people who enter prison will eventually return to the
community (usually in 2.5 years)
 The typical adult parolee is a black, non-Hispanic male on mandatory parole and
under active parole supervision for more than one year.
 The median age is 34, with an 11th grade education.
 Women make up 14 percent of the parole population.
Trends in the Parole Population
 The parole population has continually increased, averaging a growth of 1.5
percent per year.
 Many parolees are restricted from certain types of employment and also
are not allowed to vote because of their felony history.
Trends in Parole Success
 Of the 448,000 parolees discharged from supervision in 2002, 45 percent
successfully completed the conditions of their supervisions, 41 percent
were returned to prison or jail, and 9 percent absconded, 2 percent were
“other unsuccessful,” 1 percent was transferred, 1 percent died, and 1
percent was “other.”
 Some researchers found that first-time releases to state parole do better
than re-releases.
 Parolees released by discretionary means are more successful than those
released by mandatory provisions.
Parole Revocation
 Rates of relapse and recidivism are high.
 Two-thirds of all parolees are rearrested within three years.
 Rearrests comprise 35 percent of all prison admissions.
 Technical violations make up about 30 percent of revocations.
 The other 70 percent are returned for new offenses.
 At revocation hearings the level of proof needed is a preponderance of the
evidence unlike the facts beyond a reasonable doubt needed for criminal
conviction.
Issues in Parole
Reentry Courts and Community Partnership Councils
 Six core elements for reentry courts:
o Assessment and planning
o Active judicial oversight

o Case management of support services
o Accountability to the community
o Graduated sanctions
o Rewarding success
Parole officers recognize the need for more treatment resources and job
assistance to help their parolees and this need may be served by some
reentry courts.
Reintegration of Offenders
 The challenges facing most parolees are employment readiness, substance
abuse treatment, housing, and health care.
 Many released offenders lack the basic skills to fill out job applications,
read bus schedules, or calculate a price discount.
 A number of states have developed successful reintegration programs:
o Chicago’s Safer Foundation
o Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO)
o Reintegration of Offenders (RIO)
o Corrections Clearinghouse (CC)
Reintegration Involving Victims
 Victims can assist parole boards by providing relevant information,
offering their experience and expertise, and encouraging offender
accountability.
Legal Decisions Affecting Parole
 Morrissey v. Brewer (1967)
 Gagnon v. Scarpelli (1973)
 Greenholtz v. Inmates of the Nebraska Penal and Correctional Complex
(1979)
Abolition of Discretionary Parole Board Release
 Why have some states abolished discretionary release?
o The belief that indeterminate sentencing and discretionary parole did not
achieve offender rehabilitation
o Eliminating discretionary parole appeared to be tough on crime
o Parole boards’ lack of openness in the decision-making process prompted
criticism
o State politicians were able to convince the public that parole was the cause
of the rising crime problem and that abolition was the solution.
Chapter Summary
Early English judges spared the lives of condemned felons by exiling them to
American as indentured servants. Captain Alexander Maconochie, superintendent of the
British penal colony on Norfolk Island, devised a “ticket of leave” system that moved
inmates through stages. Sir Walter Crofton used some of Maconochie’s ideas for his
early release system in Ireland. In the United States, Zebulon Brockway implemented a
system of upward classification.
Paroling authorities play powerful roles in the criminal justice system. They
determine the length of incarceration for many offenders and can revoke parole. The
paroling authority’s policies have a direct impact on an institution’s population. Paroling
authorities use state laws and information from courts and other criminal justice agencies
to make release decisions.
Parole is the conditional release of a prison inmate, prior to sentence expiration,
with supervision in the community. The parole process of release begins in the
courtroom when the judge sentences an offender to either a determinate or an
indeterminate sentence. After serving a certain portion of his or her sentence, an offender
is eligible for parole release. That portion varies from state to state. If an inmate
maintains good conduct for a certain amount of time preceding the parole hearing and is
granted parole, he or she must live in accordance with specified rules and regulations in
the community. If a parolee violates either the technical conditions of parole or commits
a new crime, he or she may have parole revoked.
On January 1, 2003, 753, 141 American adults were on parole, representing an
increase of 2.8 percent (20,808) parolees) over January 1, 2002. Eighty-nine percent are
state parolees. The typical adult parolee is a black, non-Hispanic male, on mandatory
parole, and under active parole supervision for more than one year. His median age is 34
and he has an 11-th grade education. Women make up 14 percent of the parole
population. The region with the highest number of parolees is the South, followed by the
Northeast, West, and Midwest.
Parole may be revoked for a technical violation (failure to comply with one of the
conditions of parole) or for a new offense violation (commission of a crime). Two-thirds
of all parolees are rearrested within three years, typically within the first six months of
release. Of the nearly 448,000 parolees discharged from supervision in 2002, 183,680
(41 percent) were returned to prison either because of a rule violation or new offense, up
from 27,177 in 1980 and 131,502 in 1990. Currently, rearrests comprise 35 percent of all
prison admissions as compared with 17 percent in 1980.
The reentry court concept, designed to mange parolee return to the community,
requires that the parolee make regular court appearances for progress assessment.
Community Partnership Councils unites community leaders and local agencies with
parole officers and administrators to study parole operations and issues and assist with
service provisions and public education. Reintegration of offenders today emphasizes job
readiness and programs to address needs common to offenders such as substance abuse
counseling, housing, and medical care before inmates are released and continues after
release. Reintegration involving victims encourages victims to volunteer relevant
information to parole officers and supports victim-offender communication. In these
programs, victims educate offenders about the impact of the crime and generate remorse
in the hope that they can change offender behavior in the future.
Three important U.S. Supreme Court decisions significantly affected parole. In
Morrissey v. Brewer (1972), the U.S. Supreme Court said that parole, once granted,
becomes a right and that parolees are to have certain due process rights in any revocation
hearing. In Gagnon v. Scarpelli (1973), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a probationer
has a limited right to counsel in a revocation hearing and that the hearing body must
decide whether counsel should be provided on a case-by-case basis. In Greenholtz v.
Inmates of the Nebraska Penal and Correctional complex (1979), the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled that parole is a privilege; therefore, the full complement of due process rights need
not be afforded at parole hearings. As a result, states are deciding what inmate privileges
are appropriate at parole hearings.
Today, 16 states and the federal government have abolished discretionary release
from prison by a parole board for all offenders. Another 4 states have abolished
discretionary parole release for certain violent offenses or other crimes against a person.
In these states, postrelease supervision still exists and is referred to as “mandatory
supervised release,” “controlled release,” or “community control.”
Key Terms
Parole:
The conditional release of a prisoner, prior to completion of
the imposed sentence, under the supervision of a parole
officer.
Discretionary release:
Early release based on the paroling authority’s assessment
of eligibility.
Mandatory release:
Early release after a time period specified by law.
Pardon:
An executive act that legally excuses a convicted offender
from a criminal penalty.
Parole eligibility date:
The earliest date on which an inmate might be paroled.
Paroling authority:
A person or correctional agency (often called a parole
board or parole commission) that has the authority to grant
parole, revoke parole, and discharge from parole.
Salient factor score (SFS):
Scale, developed from a risk-screening instrument, used to
predict parole outcome.
Parolee:
A person who is conditionally released from prison to
community supervision.
Reentry court:
A court that manages the return to the community of
individuals released from prison.
Homework Assignments
1. Using outside resources, have the students study how many inmates are actually
paroled in you state versus those who serve their entire sentence. Examine
different types of offenders to see if the rates vary.
2. Have the students write papers on how parole can be used as an incentive to
control inmate behavior. What would happen if there was no early release?
3. Initiate a dialogue about ways to sanction parolees who commit technical
violations without reincarcerating them. Encourage students to develop a
continuum of intermediate sanctions for a low-income parolee who served time
for robbery related to his drug abuse and who tests positive while under parole
supervision.