Program of Parole Discussion
For this discussion we will think about the program of parole. In no less than 400 words take stance on the institution of parole. Is it a good thing or no? Does parole support reentry and rehabilitation? Does letting inmates out of prison early undermine the victims’ rights to justice? These are just a couple of questions to consider.
Reply to two posts:
1. Generally, parole entails the early release of prisoners before their expiry period with an agreement to abide by specific behavioural conditions. Ideally, parole has for the longest time practised in the US, thus giving prisoners some freedom to be out of jail. However, there is always a heated debate of whether parole is an effective method of reducing crimes through encouraging good behaviours from the criminals or not. Overall, I think parole is good and should be permanently executed because it assists the prison inmates by supporting them to reintegrate into society. Essentially, prisoner reentry is an arduous process that requires a robust support system to adjust to everyday life in the community entirely. Therefore, parole makes the process easier for prisoners by offering considerable and targeted support such as psychological counselling, medications, advice and practical help for better outcomes.
Further, parole lessens the population in the jail and prisons for easy management and reduces the spread of diseases. Similarly, this helps minimise overpopulation issues at the local facilities while offering an opportunity to start life afresh. In addition, parole reduces the general expenses in the prisons, thus reducing the taxpayer expenses. This is because the cost of supervising parolees is considerably lower compared to the maintenance cost of prisoners in jail. Ideally, prisoners’ maintenance costs in prison are ten times more than supervising them while out on parole in a geographic location.
Furthermore, parole promotes a positive change of behaviours for the prisoners. Commonly, not every prisoner is allowed for parole; one has to prove by their change of behaviours to earn their way for early release. Thus, this set law helps the prisoners change to good people to take advantage of the system. The prison inmates still showcasing criminal behaviours are kept in jail to serve out to end their terms. Although opposers of parole claim that it allows the released offenders to become repeat offers within the soonest time possible, parole enables the offenders to carry out various community activities that can earn them money to support their families and support the families and friends for better outcomes. Additionally, the failure rate of parole is meagre, as almost 95% of the parolees successfully complete their parole without disrespecting and violating the stated rules or committing any new crime.
Moreover, parole significantly support the reentry and rehabilitation of the prisoners. Ideally, it offers various support services to prisoners, especially those struggling to reintegrate into the community. Typically, the reentry process is difficult for almost all released prisoners. Thus, parole comes in to help such prisoners successfully reintegrate into society during this period. Parole offers some such services, including counselling and guidance, medication, and practical assistance to prisoners during the reentry process. Again, parole supports rehabilitation by providing rehabilitative programming to the prisoners to help overcome their destructive behaviours. Again, letting inmates out of prison early does not undermine the victims’ rights to justice; if anything, it is justice early served for them. Typically, inmates; life in prison is comparable to freedom one gets when released earlier before serving the term. Therefore, releasing inmates early is an act of justice since it is always based on various positive attributes of the inmate.
2. Parole was a concept first introduced in 18th century France, in which prisoners of war were released in order to create peace. This concept became adopted in colonial America and allowed for the released prisoners to work due to employment shortages in the new world. The prisoners were transported from England to the colonies in order to fill the workforce. The first idea that created the argument for parole is the medical model. This model sought to prove that criminals and offenders are “sick” and would benefit from treatment outside of the prison. Parole is overall a benefit to the prison system and can lead to the improvement of the justice system. Parole allows for offenders to keep a close contact with a support system while serving their sentence, which helps them reach their goal of getting out and benefiting from having a parole sentence. Typically, parole is used for offenders who have a less severe charge, meaning serving time outside of prison helps with the overpopulation issue that has been plaguing the prison system. By using parole, offenders are able to serve sentences outside of prisons, meaning they can work and support themselves and their families. One of the major steps to get offenders back into society is the reentry process. Parole is a step in the process and can help the offender adapt back into their society outside of prison. Through this process, offenders on parole are able to enter into programs that help them reenter into society, as well as seek out treatment. These programs can help them with job applications, the hiring process, and to improve their social and economic status. Another topic to discuss about parole is whether or not it helps the victim. The victim are always entitled to know the status of their offender’s release and sentence. Because of this, some might question the merit of putting an offender on parole. The solution is to take it case by case. Parole works best when the offense is not serious. Minor infractions and most drug charges are the typical charges in which parole is appropriate and the most effective. This is because victims typically are not involved in these cases. Cases in which there is a victim will usually result in a harsher sentence in which the time the offender spends in prison is more lengthy. Overall, parole is an effective concept, and when done correctly, can help the crowding problem in prisons and aid in prisoner rrentry into their communities.