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CHAPTER 15
Release from Incarceration
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Discuss parole and explain how it operates today.
3. Discuss the different mechanisms that are used to release people from correctional
facilities.
5. List the steps that are taken to ease the individual’s reentry into the community.
LESSON PLAN
Correlated to PowerPoints
I. Release From One Part of the System to Another
Learning Objective 1: Discuss parole and explain how it operates today.
A. All incarcerated individuals, except for the small percentage who die in prison, will be
released to live in the community.
B. Parole is the conditional release of an individual from incarceration but not from the
legal custody of the state.
C. Parole rests on three concepts:
1. Grace or privilege
3. Custody
D. Only people convicted of felonies are released on parole; adults convicted of
misdemeanors are usually released directly from local institutions on expiration of their
sentences.
1. The number of people on parole has more than quadrupled during the past 35
years.
2. In 2015, 870,500 individuals were under parole supervision, a nearly 300
percent increase since 1980.
E. A variety of organizational structures have been developed to affect the release of
individuals from prison, but parole is uniformly an activity of state and federal (not local)
governments. In many states, the parole board (releasing authority) is part of the
department of corrections; in others, it is an autonomous body whose members the
governor appoints.
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Media Tool
Visit https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/uspc/legacy/2009/10/07/history.pdf
o Federal Parole System
o Discuss this in class. What is good about the federal parole system? What is bad or
broken about it? How can it be enhanced or improved?
What If Scenario
What if the concept of parole was never established and all incarcerated individuals were
required to complete their sentences to their entirety? Where would our prison system be?
II. Origins of Parole
Learning Objective 2: Explain the origins and evolution of parole in the United States.
A. Parole in the United States evolved during the nineteenth century following English,
Australian, and Irish practices such as conditional pardon, apprenticeship by indenture,
transportation, and “tickets-of-leave.” They were responses to problems of overcrowding,
labor shortages, and the cost of incarceration.
B. A key figure in developing the concept of parole was Captain Alexander Maconochie,
who developed a system in which individuals could pass through stages of increasing
responsibility and freedom:
2. Labor on chain gangs
4. A ticket-of-leave or parole with conditional pardon
5. Full liberty as rewards for good conduct, labor, and study.
C. Maconochie’s idea of requiring incarcerated individuals to earn their early release
caught on first in Ireland with Sir Walter Crofton. He built on Maconochie’s idea, and it
became known as the Irish or intermediate system.
D. The English and Irish developments soon traveled across the Atlantic. Conditional
pardons and reductions for good time had been a part of American corrections since the
early 1800s, but such individuals were released without supervision.
E. Parole in the United States was linked to the indeterminate sentence developed by
Zebulon Brockway.
2. Parole reduces time in prison.
4. Parole affects the size of the prison population as well as discipline within the
facility.
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III. Release Mechanisms
Learning Objective 3: Discuss the different mechanisms that are used to release people from
correctional facilities.
A. Discretionary Release
B. Mandatory Release
a. Occurs after an individual has served time equal to a certain percentage of the
total sentence minus good time.
C. Probation Release
D. Other Conditional Releases
E. Expiration Release
a. Is given to an increasing percentage of incarcerated individuals. This releases
Class Discussion/Activity
Have each student write about which method of release they would hope for if they were in
prison. Have them account for their choice. During class, have students discuss their release
choices.
What If Scenario
What if your limited corrections budget only allowed for three reintegration programs? What
types of programs would you choose? Why?
See Assignment 1
IV. The Organization of Releasing Authorities
Learning Objective 4: Explain how releasing authorities are organized.
A. Consolidated Versus Autonomous: Parole boards tend to be organized either inside a
department (consolidation model) or as an independent agency (autonomous model) of
government.
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B. Field Services: During the past decade, there has been a movement to make the
transition from incarceration to the community more gradual, and most departments have
instituted such pre-parole programs as work release and educational release.
What If Scenario
What if you could put together a parole board? What type of people would be on it and why?
V. The Decision to Release
Learning Objective 5: List the steps that are taken to ease the individual’s reentry into the
community.
A. The Discretionary Release Process: Discretionary release is designed to allow the
parole board to release individuals to conditional supervision in the community when
they are deemed “ready” to live as law-abiding citizens.
1. Procedure: Eligibility for a release hearing can vary greatly, based on
individual sentence, statutory criteria, and conduct.
2. Release Criteria: Parole boards give incarcerated individuals a formal statement
of the criteria for making the decision; individuals do not “apply” for parole. The
published criteria may help familiarize them with the board’s expectations:
a. Nature and circumstances of offense and current attitude
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Class Discussion/Activity
Create a fictional prisoner who is coming up for parole. Break the students into two groups and
have them debate. One group is supporting parole for the prisoner and the other is opposed.
3. The Prisoner’s Perspective: How to Win Parole: “If you want to get paroled,
you’ve got to be in a program.”
B. Structuring Parole Decisions
1. In response to the criticism that the release decisions of parole boards are
2. Release is usually granted to individuals who have served the amount of time
stipulated by the guidelines and who meet the following three criteria:
3. Soon after an individual is sent to prison, the presumptive parole date can be
calculated. This is the date of expected parole release should no disciplinary
issues arise.
C. The Impact of Release Mechanisms
2. One important fact is that an administrative body—the parole board—can
shorten a sentence imposed by a judge.
4. Release before the end of the formal sentence encourages plea bargaining by
both prosecutors and defendants.
6. Discretionary release is also an important tool for reducing prison populations.
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Media Tool
Visit http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4841691n
o CBS News: Effectiveness of Parole
o Discuss this video in class. Based on this report, is parole effective? If so, how? If not, in
what ways can it be altered to make it more effective?
Class Discussion/Activity
Have the class participate in a mock parole board hearing. Create several incarcerated individual
profiles that include variations of the usual parole criteria. Ensure that the criteria include a male
and a female incarcerated individual. Have some students play the parts of parole board
members, incarcerated individuals, and victims.
VI. Release to the Community
A. One impact of the explosive growth of the nation’s prison population is the huge
increase in the number of individuals who are being released to the community after
serving their terms.
B. Out of the philosophy of community corrections came the reintegration model of
prison life with the goal to prepare offending individuals for reentry into society.
C. Table 15.4 shows characteristics of some prerelease programs. These programs help
the individual transition into society.
Media Tool
Visit http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/february-18-2011/prisoner-
reentry/8181/
o Hawaii Prisoner Reentry Programs
o Discuss this in class. What is different or unique about Hawaii’s prisoner reentry
programs? Are they better than those in other states? Do students feel that Hawaii’s
programs could/should be adopted across the country? Why or why not?
Class Discussion/Activity
View a National Geographic video on parole boards. Allow your students to observe a board in
action. After the video, allow them to discuss how they would have handled the individuals in
the video.
What If Scenario
What if you were an incarcerated individual? What method of release would you hope for?
Why?
See Assignments 2–5
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LECTURE NOTES
Most incarcerated individuals are released at some point. It is critical that students understand the
ideologies, philosophical issues, and practical concerns associated with release. To adequately do
so, students must fully understand the concept of an indeterminate sentence and discretion. This
would be a good time to survey each one.
Throughout the twentieth century, there essentially was one nationwide sentencing release
procedure. There are now five basic mechanisms by which someone comes to be released from
prison. Students should have a strong command of each one. They should understand how the
release decision is made.
This chapter introduces the concept and practice of parole—the most common form of release. It
will be constructive to elaborate on what parole is and isn’t. Review the origins of parole and
explore how it operates in today’s correctional climate. Outline the various steps in the parole
process.
The authors provide several suggestions about how releasing authorities ought to be structured.
In particular, the chapter explores the possibility of a consolidated or autonomous structure and
the appointment of parole board members. Discuss how these various structural possibilities
come to influence the decision to release. Also, explore the impact of differing release
mechanisms.
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lately. In particular, this raises concerns about the nature of community support and supervision
that should be provided in order to maximize the possibility of someone’s success on the outside
KEY TERMS
Parole
The conditional release of an individual from incarceration, under supervision, after part of the
prison sentence has been served.
Discretionary release
The release of an individual from prison to conditional supervision at the discretion of the parole
board within the boundaries set by the sentence and the penal law.
Probation release
The release of an individual from incarceration to probation supervision, as required by the
sentencing judge.
Other conditional release
A probationary sentence used in some states to get around the rigidity of mandatory release by
placing convicted individuals in various community settings under supervision.
Expiration release
The release of an individual from incarceration without any further correctional supervision; the
inmate cannot be returned to prison for any remaining portion of the sentence for the current
offense.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Have each student write a short essay as if they’ve been selected as commissioner of
corrections for a particular state. Tell them that their first responsibility is to develop
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in part.
criteria for parole release. Have students describe the criteria they would select and
address why they selected them and what problems they may present. [LO3]
2. Ask students to develop a list of requirements they would design if assigned to a parole
3. Have students describe what the Federal Bureau of Prisons does to prepare individuals
for release. They can learn more about this at:
4. Have students read the article “The Power of Family” (2011), posted on Corrections.com.
This article describes the importance of family connections and successful incarcerated
individual reentry. It is accessed through:
http://www.corrections.com/news/article/28886-the-power-of-family. Students should
5. Ask students to answer the following questions in an essay: Who decides whether an
incarcerated individual will be able to go to a halfway house or not? What would be the
ANSWERS TO END-OF-CHAPTER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Although the answers provided below will vary from student to student, the responses should
include at a minimum a discussion of the following key points.
1. How does mandatory release affect the corrections system? How will corrections adjust to this
harnessing of the discretion of parole boards and judges?
2. What factors should a parole board consider when it evaluates an incarcerated individual for
release?
3. Suppose, as a parole board member, you are confronted by a man who has served 6 years of a 10-
to 20–year sentence for murder. He has a good institutional record, and you do not believe him to
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be a threat to community safety. Would you release him to parole supervision at this time? Why or
why not?
4. Suppose you have been asked to decide whether the department of corrections or an independent
agency should have authority over release decisions. Where would you place that authority?
Why?
5. Given the current public attitude toward individuals involved in criminal activity, what do you see
as the likely future of parole release?