Policy Statement 17, Research Highlight 1
For the majority of prisoners, the timing of release is constrained by a pre-determined mechanism such as mandatory release, and not by a discretionary authority, such as a parole board.
Until the 1980s, most prisoners were released after parole boards deemed them "ready," meaning the parole board believed that they were rehabilitated and/or had productive connections to the community, such as a job, a housing arrangement, and ties to family. Release decisions were therefore based on some generalized assessment regarding how a person would fare once released from prison. [1] Today, that is not the case. In 1976, 65 percent of released prisoners were released by a discretionary authority, such as a parole board. [2] By 2002, 16 states had abolished the discretionary parole function altogether. [3] (See Appendix, Chart of Status of Parole by State, for a state-by-state itemization of releasing-authority policies.) Currently only a minority of prisoners 24 percent is released through a discretionary process. The remainder some 76 percent is released under some predetermined mechanism such as mandatory release, a split sentence, or unconditional release. [4] (Trends in methods of release from prison can be seen in the table "Method of Release from State Prison, for Selected Years, 1980-99.")
- Joan Petersilia, When Prisoners Come Home: Parole and Prisoner Reentry (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003). back
- Timothy A. Hughes, Doris James Wilson, and Anthony J. Beck, Trends in State Parole, 1990-2000, US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (Washington, DC: 2001), NCJ 184735. back
- Joan Petersilia, When Prisoners Come Home: Parole and Prisoner Reentry (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003). [Back] back
- Jeremy Travis and Sarah Lawrence, Beyond the Prison Gates (Washington DC: The Urban Institute, 2002); see sidebar "Community Supervision: A Concise Guide" for further explanation of terms. back