The History of Parole

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Chapter 3

• The History of Parole Mandatory Release

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Parole

• The conditional release of a convicted offender
  from a correctional institution, under the
  continued custody of the state, to serve the
  remainder of their sentence in the community
  under supervision

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Release Types

• Mandatory release offenders enter the community
  automatically when their maximum term expires
  minus credited time off for good behavior.
• Mandatory release is decided by legislative
  statute or good-time laws.
• Discretionary release offenders enter the
  community when members of a parole board decide
  they have earned the privilege of release while
  remaining under supervision

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The Origins of Parole

• Parole is derived from the French parole
  dhonneur, meaning word of honor
• Parole originated in Europe with
• Manuel Montesinos, a Spaniard, in 1835
• Georg Michael Obermaier, a German, in 1842
• Alexander Maconochie, an Englishman, in
  1837

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Marks System

• Implemented in 1840 by Alexander Maconochie,
  superintendant of the English penal colony on
  Norfolk Island
• Duration of sentence determined by prisoners
  industry good conduct
• Prisoners earned daily marks based on their
  conduct labor
• The more marks prisoners earned, their
  privileges increased poor conduct led to a
  reduction in marks
• Good marks led to conditional release and
  eventually freedom to leave the island
• Maconochies system was very successful, but the
  public was skeptical. He was dismissed in 1844,
  ending his experiment

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The Irish System

• Modeled after Norfolk Island by Sir Walter
  Crofton in 1854, based on
• Strict imprisonment
• Indeterminate sentence
• Ticket-of-leave
• Prisoners released under the Irish System were
  supervised by police in rural areas and an
  inspector in Dublin.

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Development of Parole in the U.S.

• Parole was first implemented at the New York
  Elmira Reformatory in 1876
• Federal parole began in 1910
• Four concepts justified parole in the U.S.
• Reduction in the length of incarceration as a
  reward for good conduct
• Supervision of the parolee
• Imposition of the indeterminate sentence
• Reduction in the rising cost of incarceration

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Medical Model

• Based on rehabilitation, it was the primary
  philosophy dominating corrections from 1930-1960
• Assumed criminal behavior rooted in environmental
  psychological aspects of offenders life
  could be corrected
• Parole the indeterminate sentence were major
  parts of this philosophy
• Judge sentences offender to an indeterminate
  sentence
• Parole board determines release date based on
  when the offender is ready to be responsible

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Just Deserts or Justice Model

• Replaced the medical model indeterminate
  sentencing in the 1970s because of
• Increasing crime rates
• The perceived failure of rehabilitation programs
• The perception that parole boards were incapable
  of making predictive judgments about offenders
  future behavior

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Just Deserts Model

• In contrast to the rehabilitative idea, it
  changed the focus from the offender to the
  offense.
• Embraced determinate sentencing the abolition
  of parole
• Took the position that indeterminate sentencing
  was vague, leading to disparities in sentencing
  based on race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status,
  place of conviction.

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From Discretionary Parole to Mandatory Release

• As of 2001, 15 states had abolished parole
  another 5 abolished discretionary release for
  violent offenses.
• Because of the trend toward determinate
  sentencing abolishing discretionary release,
  between 24 to 39 of prisoners are released via
  discretionary release, whereas mandatory release
  numbers have increased.

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Arguments for Discretionary Release

• Parole boards can impose prisoner participation
  in treatment programs
• Parole guidelines have improved methods of
  objective open decisions
• Victims can attend parole hearings
• Automatic release decisions are made by computer
• Abolishing discretionary release does not
  necessarily increase public safety

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Characteristics of Paroles

• Nearly 820,000 people were on parole in 2007
• The Southern region had the highest incarceration
  rates, yet the lowest parole rates.
• The Northeast region had the opposite situationa
  higher rate of parole a lower rate of
  incarceration per 100,000 residents.
• Since 2000, 12 of parolees are women
• Parole success rates are lower than for
  probation about 44 of all parolees successfully
  complete parole
• About 3 out of 10 parolees are removed from
  parole for too many rule violations 1 out of 10
  for new crimes

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Contemporary Functions of Parole

• Parole is tasked primarily with protecting the
  public from released offenders. This goal is
  accomplished in 3 general objectives
• Enforcing restrictions controls on parolees in
  the community
• Providing services that help parolees integrate
  into a noncriminal lifestyle
• Increasing the publics level of confidence in
  the effectiveness responsiveness of parole
  services
• Parole as population control
• In some states, parole also functions as the back
  doorkeeper a safety valve to relieve overcrowded
  prisons

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Saving Medical Costs

• Medical parole, or compassionate release, is the
  conditional release of prisoners with a terminal
  illness who are not risks to the publics safety.
• Medical parole is not popular with the public
  only about 300 people are released nationwide on
  medical parole.

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Medical Parole in California

• In 2010, California passed a medical parole law
  that would allow the paroling authority to
  release prisoners who are permanently medically
  incapacitated require 24 hour care but are no
  longer a threat
• If the parolees condition should unexpectedly
  improve, he or she can be sent back to prison
• Death row life without parole inmates are not
  eligible

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Release on California Medical Parole

• Steven Martinez 42 years old, serving 157 years
  for rape kidnapping
• 3 years into his prison sentence he was stabbed
  in the spine, is a quadriplegic, cannot perform
  the simplest tasks. He care costs about
  625,000/year
• Martinez was the first prisoner to be considered
  for medical parole in California
• His application was denied

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Texas Board of Pardons ParoleAnnual Report 2010

• MEDICALLY RECOMMENDED INTENSIVE SUPERVISION
  (MRIS)
• Upon review of any eligible offender who
  qualifies for release to Medically Recommended
  Intensive Supervision (MRIS), the MRIS panel
  bases its decisions on the offenders medical
  condition and medical evaluation, and whether the
  offender constitutes a threat to public safety.
• Offenders shall comply with the terms and
  conditions of the MRIS program and abide by a
  Texas Correctional Office for Offenders with
  Mental or Medical Impairments (TCOOMMI) approved
  release plan. Offenders remain under the care of
  a physician and in a medically suitable
  placement.
• MRIS Data Comparison
• YEAR 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
• Screened 1,600 941 1,319 1,318 1,443
• Presented 401 290 438 337 428
• Approved 161 101 103 59 106