Parole Board
Encyclopedia
A parole board is a panel of people who decide whether an offender should be released from prison on parole
after serving at least a minimum portion of their sentence as prescribed by the sentencing judge. Parole boards are used in many jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom
and the United States
. A related concept is the board of pardons and paroles, which may deal with pardon
s and commutation
s as well as paroles.
A parole board consists of people qualified to make judgements about the suitability of a prisoner for return to free society. Members may be judge
s, psychiatrist
s, or criminologists. Many states do not have written qualifications for parole board members and will allow community members to serve in that capacity. Some states require all members to possess a 4 year degree, while others do not. Each state has a different requirement for parole board appointment. The universal requirement is that the candidate for membership has to be of good moral fiber.
On the federal level
and in the District of Columbia, there is no longer parole. The United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines
(enacted in 1987) discontinued parole for those convicted of federal crime
s for offenses committed after November 1, 1987. This truth in sentencing
legislation required federal prisoners to serve 85 percent of their sentences. The United States Parole Commission
remains the parole board for those who committed a federal offense before November 1, 1987, as well as those who committed a D.C. Code offense before August 5, 2000, a Uniform Code of Military Justice
offense and are parole-eligible, and persons who are serving prison terms imposed by foreign countries and have been transferred to the United States to serve their sentence.
Every U.S. state
also has a parole board. The autonomy of the board from the state governor
also varies; in some states the boards are more powerful than in others. In some states the board is an independent agency while in others it is a body of the department of corrections
. Determinate sentencing has also severely reduced the power of many parole boards. Often, consideration of the opinion of the victim or victims or their family is taken into account in the board's final determination (see victims' rights
).
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
after serving at least a minimum portion of their sentence as prescribed by the sentencing judge. Parole boards are used in many jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. A related concept is the board of pardons and paroles, which may deal with pardon
Pardon
Clemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
s and commutation
Commutation of sentence
Commutation of sentence involves the reduction of legal penalties, especially in terms of imprisonment. Unlike a pardon, a commutation does not nullify the conviction and is often conditional. Clemency is a similar term, meaning the lessening of the penalty of the crime without forgiving the crime...
s as well as paroles.
A parole board consists of people qualified to make judgements about the suitability of a prisoner for return to free society. Members may be judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
s, psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
s, or criminologists. Many states do not have written qualifications for parole board members and will allow community members to serve in that capacity. Some states require all members to possess a 4 year degree, while others do not. Each state has a different requirement for parole board appointment. The universal requirement is that the candidate for membership has to be of good moral fiber.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom members are also drawn from a wider circle of professions. The Board typically makes a judgement about whether a prisoner will affect public safety if released, but does not form an opinion about whether the initial sentencing was appropriate. They are non-departmental public bodies.United States
There are 52 parole boards in operation in the United States.On the federal level
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
and in the District of Columbia, there is no longer parole. The United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines
Federal Sentencing Guidelines
The Federal Sentencing Guidelines are rules that set out a uniform sentencing policy for individuals and organizations convicted of felonies and serious misdemeanors in the United States federal courts system...
(enacted in 1987) discontinued parole for those convicted of federal crime
Federal crime
In the United States, a federal crime or federal offense is a crime that is made illegal by U.S. federal legislation. In the United States, criminal law and prosecution happen at both the federal and the state levels; thus a “federal crime” is one that is prosecuted under federal criminal law, and...
s for offenses committed after November 1, 1987. This truth in sentencing
Truth in Sentencing
Truth in sentencing is a collection of different but related public policy stances on sentencing of those convicted of crimes in the justice system. In most contexts truth in sentencing refers to policies and legislation that aim to abolish or curb parole, so that convicts serve the period that...
legislation required federal prisoners to serve 85 percent of their sentences. The United States Parole Commission
United States Parole Commission
The United States Parole Commission is the parole board responsible to grant or deny parole and to supervise those released on parole to incarcerated individuals who come under its jurisdiction. It is part of the United States Department of Justice....
remains the parole board for those who committed a federal offense before November 1, 1987, as well as those who committed a D.C. Code offense before August 5, 2000, a Uniform Code of Military Justice
Uniform Code of Military Justice
The Uniform Code of Military Justice , is the foundation of military law in the United States. It is was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United States Constitution in Article I, Section 8, which provides that "The Congress shall have Power . ....
offense and are parole-eligible, and persons who are serving prison terms imposed by foreign countries and have been transferred to the United States to serve their sentence.
Every U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
also has a parole board. The autonomy of the board from the state governor
Governor (United States)
In the United States, the title governor refers to the chief executive of each state or insular territory, not directly subordinate to the federal authorities, but the political and ceremonial head of the state.-Role and powers:...
also varies; in some states the boards are more powerful than in others. In some states the board is an independent agency while in others it is a body of the department of corrections
Department of Corrections
A Department of Corrections is a governmental agency responsible for overseeing the incarceration of persons convicted of crimes within a particular jurisdiction. Entities serving that purpose include:* Department of Corrections...
. Determinate sentencing has also severely reduced the power of many parole boards. Often, consideration of the opinion of the victim or victims or their family is taken into account in the board's final determination (see victims' rights
Victims' Rights
-History:Victim movements in the U.S. grew in the 1970s. In 1982, President Ronald Reagan's Task Force on Victims of Crime released its Final Report. The report drew attention to the re-victimization of crime victims within the criminal justice system...
).
- AlabamaAlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
: Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles http://www.pardons.state.al.us/ - AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
: Alaska Board of Parole http://www.correct.state.ak.us/corrections/Parole/ - ArizonaArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
: Arizona Board of Executive Clemency http://azboec.gov/ - ArkansasArkansasArkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
: Arkansas Board of Parole http://www.arbop.org/ - CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
: California Board of Parole Hearings http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/BOPH/index.html - ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
: Colorado Board of Parole https://exdoc.state.co.us/secure/combo/weblets/index.php/paroles - ConnecticutConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
: Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles http://www.ct.gov/doc/cwp/view.asp?a=1520&q=284830&docNav=|40574| - DelawareDelawareDelaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
: Delaware Board of Parole http://www.state.de.us/parole/default.shtml - FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
: Florida Parole Commission https://fpc.state.fl.us/ - GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
: Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles http://www.pap.state.ga.us/opencms/opencms/ - HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
: Hawaii Paroling Authority http://www.hawaii.gov/psd/hpa.php - IdahoIdahoIdaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
: Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole http://www2.state.id.us/parole/ - IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
: Illinois Department of Corrections Parole Division http://www.idoc.state.il.us/subsections/departments/parole_division/ - IndianaIndianaIndiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
: Indiana Parole Board http://www.in.gov/indcorrection/paroleboard.htm - IowaIowaIowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
: Iowa Board of Parole http://www.bop.state.ia.us/ - KansasKansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
: Kansas Parole Board http://www.dc.state.ks.us/kpb - KentuckyKentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
: Kentucky Parole Board http://justice.ky.gov/parolebd/ - LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
: separate Louisiana Board of Pardons http://www.corrections.state.la.us/Offices/Pardon/boardofpardons.htm and Louisiana Board of Parole http://www.corrections.state.la.us/Offices/paroleboard/parolebrd_main.htm - MaineMaineMaine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
: Maine Parole Board [www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules/03/208/208c001.doc] - MarylandMarylandMaryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
: Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Division of Parole and Probation http://www.dpscs.state.md.us/victimservs/vs_dpp.shtml - MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
: Massachusetts Parole Board http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eopsagencylanding&L=3&L0=Home&L1=Public+Safety+Agencies&L2=Massachusetts+Parole+Board&sid=Eeops - MichiganMichiganMichigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
: Michigan Parole Board http://www.michigan.gov/corrections/0,1607,7-119-1435---,00.html - MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
: Minnesota Board of PardonsMinnesota Board of PardonsThe Minnesota Board of Pardons is the pardon board of the state of Minnesota. The Board of Pardons consists of the Governor of Minnesota, the chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, and Minnesota Attorney General...
http://www.corr.state.mn.us/org/communityserv/policy.htm#data - MississippiMississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
: Mississippi Parole Board http://www.mpb.state.ms.us/ - MissouriMissouriMissouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
: Missouri Department of Corrections, Division of Probation and Parole http://www.doc.mo.gov/division/prob/prob.htm - MontanaMontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
: Montana Board of Pardons and Parole http://www.mt.gov/bopp/ - NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
: Nebraska Department of Correctional ServicesNebraska Department of Correctional ServicesThe Nebraska Department of Correctional Services is the state corrections agency for the State of Nebraska. NDCS currently has 11 institutions confining over 4,000 inmates. All male inmates coming into the system enter through the Diagnostic and Evaluation Center where they are evaluated and...
, Adult Parole Administration http://www.corrections.state.ne.us/programs/adult_parole/index.html - NevadaNevadaNevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
: Nevada Department of Public SafetyNevada Department of Public SafetyThe Nevada Department of Public Safety is a governmental agency in the U.S. state of Nevada. The department is responsible for the protection and safety of residents and visitors....
, Division of Parole and Probation http://dps.nv.gov/npp/index.shtml - New HampshireNew HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
: New Hampshire Adult Parole Board http://www.nh.gov/nhdoc/divisions/parole/index.html - New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
: New Jersey State Parole BoardNew Jersey State Parole BoardThe New Jersey State Parole Board is a governmental body in the U.S. State of New Jersey that is responsible for assisting offenders to reenter society as law-abiding residents....
http://www.state.nj.us/parole/ - New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
: New Mexico Parole Board http://corrections.state.nm.us/parole/paroleboard.html - New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
: New York State Division of ParoleNew York State Division of ParoleThe New York State Division of Parole is the division of the government of New York responsible for parole.In criminal justice systems, parole is the supervised release of a prisoner before the completion of his/her sentence...
http://parole.state.ny.us/ - North CarolinaNorth CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
: North Carolina Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission http://www.doc.state.nc.us/parole/ - North DakotaNorth DakotaNorth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
: North Dakota Parole Board http://governor.nd.gov/boards/boards-query.asp?Board_ID=78 - OhioOhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
: Ohio Parole Board http://www.drc.state.oh.us/WEB/parboard.htm - OklahomaOklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
: Oklahoma Pardon and Parole BoardOklahoma Pardon and Parole BoardThe Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board is the parole board of the state of Oklahoma. The Board was created by an amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution in 1944...
http://www.ppb.state.ok.us/ - OregonOregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
: Oregon Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision http://www.oregon.gov/BOPPPS/ - PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
: Pennsylvania Board of Probation and ParolePennsylvania Board of Probation and ParolePennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole is a cabinet-level independent agency in Pennsylvania.-External links:*...
http://www.pbpp.state.pa.us/pbpp/site/default.asp - Rhode IslandRhode IslandThe state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
: Rhode Island Parole Board http://www.paroleboard.ri.gov/ - South CarolinaSouth CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
: South Carolina Board of Paroles and Pardons http://www.dppps.sc.gov/stateboard.html - South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
: South Dakota Board of Pardons and Paroles http://www.state.sd.us/CORRECTIONS/parole.htm - TennesseeTennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
: Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole http://www2.state.tn.us/bopp/home.htm - TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
: Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/bpp/ - UtahUtahUtah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
: Utah Board of Pardons and Parole http://bop.utah.gov/ - VermontVermontVermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
: Vermont Parole Board http://www.doc.state.vt.us/about/parole-board/ - VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
: Virginia Parole Board http://www.vadoc.state.va.us/vpb/default.shtm - Washington: Washington State Indeterminate Sentence Review Board http://www.srb.wa.gov/Default.htm
- West VirginiaWest VirginiaWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
: West Virginia Parole Board http://www.wvf.state.wv.us/wvparoleboard/ - WisconsinWisconsinWisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
: Wisconsin Parole Commission http://www.wi-doc.com/Parole_Commission.htm - WyomingWyomingWyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
: Wyoming Board of Parole http://bop.state.wy.us/