1. Chapter 11
Preparing for Prisoner Reentry: Discretionary Parole & Mandatory Release

2. Introduction
Prisoner reentry: any activity or program dedicated to preparing & integrating parolees into the community as law-abiding citizens, using a collaborative approach with parole officers, treatment providers & citizens
Goal of reentry is crime desistance
Of offenders released from prison every year, 80% will remain on community supervision & 20% will serve entire sentence behind bars

3. Issues in Reentry
Offenders must change their definitions of themselves
Need for identification cards, clothes, bus passes, medications, & help applying for assistance programs if they are eligible
Many need more than a list of referrals, especially those with health care needs
Finding & maintaining steady employment
Finding suitable housing
Avoiding substance abuse
Transportation needs
Protection from abusive relationships
Child advocacy & family reunification help

4. The Prisoner’s Family
A prisoner’s family suffers during the period of confinement with the stigma of having a loved one behind bars
More than 1.5 million children under 18 have at least 1 parent behind bars
The family plays a vital role in reentry, yet between 24 & 54 % of prisoners have someone to meet them at release
Reentry requires family ties to be reestablished or mended

5. Justice Reinvestment
Large numbers of parolees reside in disadvantaged, impoverished communities
As more prisoners return to those communities, they become less stable, less cohesive, & more criminogenic
Justice reinvestment: states that reduce prison populations receive federal funds for community programs & services to improve these communities & reduce crime

6. Community-Based Reentry Initiatives
Reentry programs are growing in numbers
Many involve partnerships with faith-based organizations & grassroots community groups
Reentry courts: a collaborative, team-based program that occurs after prison to improve the link between parole supervision & treatment providers
Parolees have appointments with reentry “team”
Similar to drug courts with judges, court hearings, graduated sanctions
Day reporting/district resource centers: provide nonresidential programs & services to parolees

7. Eligibility for Parole
The first step in the reentry process is the offender must be eligible for parole consideration
Some inmates are permanently ineligible for parole: those sentenced to death or life without parole, & some habitual offenders under “3-strike” type sentences

8. Eligibility Dates
The minimum eligibility date is the shortest amount of time defined by statute that must be served before an inmate is considered for parole by the parole board
The maximum eligibility date is the longest amount of time that can be served before the inmate must, by law, be released (“maxing out” a sentence)

9. Time Sheets & Eligibility Dates
Good time (or “gain time”):
awarded for institutional good conduct & may be lost for misbehavior
reduces the amount of time an inmate must serve before parole eligibility
good-time laws vary from state to state
some states have had to increase good time to reduce overcrowding
Parole eligibility dates: completion of the minimum sentence
the manner in which it is established varies from state to state & offense-type to offense-type
many states allow credit for jail time before sentencing

10. Prerelease Preparation
Prerelease facility: a minimum security program that houses inmates with good institutional conduct who are within 2 years of release
Prerelease plan: includes a summary of institutional conduct & program participation as well as plans for housing and employment upon release, &:
Increases an offender’s chances of parole
Saves time during the parole hearing
Reflects ties in the community that will assist in reentry

11. Parole Board Functions
Parole boards have four basic functions:
To decide when prisoners should be released
To determine any special conditions of parole supervision
To successfully discharge the parolee when conditions have been met
To determine whether parole privileges should be revoked if the conditions are violated
In addition, some parole boards are involved with granting furloughs, executive clemency decisions, restoring civil rights, & granting reprieves in death penalty cases

12. The Parole Board & Hearing
Parole boards average 7 members, ranging from 3 to 19 in number.
In states that use parole boards, the governor or head of the department of corrections appoints members for an average of 5 years, with varying qualifications
Parole hearings:
Resolve inconsistencies in offender’s prerelease plan
Review institutional program participation & conduct
Consider inmate’s motivation for parole
Consider input from the victim & other interested parties

13. Parole Hearing Parole hearings are conducted in 1 of 3 ways:
in person: most common, conducted in the prison, board members ask the offender questions
video- teleconference: reduces need for travel to the prisons
review of file: no face-to-face contact, decision made based on review of offender’s file
States vary on who can attend parole hearing & how information is conveyed
Victim impact statement: common form of accepted correspondence in a hearing, which describes the crime’s physical, emotional, financial, & psychological impact on the victim & their family

14. Parole Risk Assessment
Move in the 1970s to using objective guidelines in release decisions
Release decisions can be quantitatively predicted, using age, offense seriousness, & prior incarcerations to predict recidivism
Salient Factor Score (SFS) developed by Federal Parole Commission, assigned numerical score to each variable that predicted recidivism
Today, over 80% of releasing authorities use a type of assessment that includes numerical scoring
Risk assessment instruments can be fine-tuned

15. Evidence –Based Findings About Risk
Evidence points to 8 central risk factors for recidivism:
Criminal identity
Antisocial personality disorder
Early & persistent involvement in law breaking behavior
Significant others/close associates are antisocial
Lack of nurturing & supportive relationships
Alcohol &/or drug abuse
Low levels of performance in school & employment
Lack of interest in legitimate leisure, hobbies, recreation

16. Parole Board Decisions
Parole boards consider:
Severity & type of offender’s crime
Offender’s prior criminal history
Victim’s input
Input from offender’s family & district attorney
Probability of recidivism
Risk to community safety
Conduct of the offender while incarcerated
Sufficiency of the release plan

17. Parole Board Decision, cont’d
The options for parole decision makers are:
Grant parole: resulting in conditional release
Deny parole: resulting in continued imprisonment
Release deferral: resulting in a delay of the grant or deny decision, typically by 6 months to a year
Many release decisions are made by panels of the entire board, although violent crimes & those of a sexual nature often require full board review

18. Due Process During Parole Hearings
Parole is a privilege and not a right, decided by the Supreme Court in Menechino v. Oswald (1971)
Greenholtz v. Inmates of the Nebraska Penal & Correctional Complex (1979) established minimal due process protections in the parole granting process:
reasonable notice of parole hearing date
a “hearing” where the prisoner can present evidence
written reasons when parole is denied

19. Hearsay, DNA, & an Attorney
Hearsay can be used in parole release decisions, but parole cannot be denied for false, insufficient, or capricious reasons
DNA evidence for a crime the offender was not prosecuted for has been used in release decisions
Prisoners seeking parole do not have the right to be represented by counsel; a lawyer can attend to support the prisoner, but cannot speak during the hearing

20. Early Release from Parole
Michael Guglielmo, incarcerated for firing a machine gun at police in 1985, was granted early parole release in 2011, after serving 8 ½ years on parole. He was scheduled for release in Guglielmo violated parole in 2009 & spent 5 weeks in prison because he was involved in a street fight. In 2006, his child was born with an immune deficiency disorder & needed a bone marrow replacement. Guglielmo publicized his son’s plight, which led to a match. Since then, Guglielmo has been very active in recruiting bone marrow donors & has become the single largest recruiter in the U.S. His early release will allow a NY bone marrow center to hire him.
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21. Parole Release Denied
Mark David Chapman, who killed John Lennon in 1980, was denied parole at his sixth parole hearing in Chapman first became eligible for parole consideration in He was sentenced to 20 years to life & is now 55 years old. Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, opposed his release & considers him still to be a threat to her & her family.
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