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Challenges of the parole system
Challenges of the parole system
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Today I called the Illinois Representative Michael J. Madigan office and received his answering machine. I left him a message asking him to please consider passing bills for sentencing reform legislation, such as the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act (SRCA), S.2123. I told him that I am a registered voter and it has come to my attention that the federal prison population has skyrocketed dramatically over the past 35 years and most of the people in the prisons are in for minimum drug sentences. I told him that while people are in prison they are losing income, job skills, and are typically unable to attend rehabilitation programs. All of these aspects make it extremely difficult for the people to obtain jobs or get on the right path once
The parole board makes the determination and it can effect the transition to the free society by providing control. Even though parole gives offenders a second chance to go back to having a normal life, some offenders will violate the conditions of their parole. They may violate these conditions by consuming alcohol or drugs or even by associating with stronger offenders. These individuals that are under parole, are often labeled as very dangerous people, which makes the society fear
Before watching the documentary, Life on Parole, I wasn’t aware that parole could be revoked for relatively minor offenses or for arguably not important offenses. I believed that it would take more major offenses to have parole revoked. However, the documentary showcased that there is a broad spectrum of offenses that can get a parolee sent back to prison t the discretion of their parole officer. As stated by one of the parolees, “Some people think being on parole is you’re free. You’re not.”
How has parole officer help paroles to re-enter society? Parole officer are extremely value in the criminal justice field because it helps the community to feel insured of their safety from offender who has been convicted of horrible crimes. The parole officer duty is to help insured the community safety by supervising offenders who has been release from prison, and also help them to re-enter society. Parole officer also have the ability to put back the release prisoner back to jail. They can only do that if the offender who has been release doesn’t cooperate with the parole officer.
From there, the employer is able to refuse to hire them if they have checked yes. If the “felon” needs a place to stay, they can also be discriminated against by public housing. Additionally, in some states, being branded a criminal results in the ineligibility of receiving food stamps. Just as Nixon intended, the so-called “war on drugs” has also disrupted black communities. In cities of extreme incarceration, communities find it hard to reconstruct their economy as people are more than likely working low-paying jobs due to being refused again and again by higher paying jobs for being a criminal.
Felon Disenfranchisement: Is it Constitutional and Should Felons Be Allowed to Vote? Felon disenfranchisement is defined as, “Any convicted felon currently incarcerated or ex-felon now on parole or probation who cannot vote. ”(Brooks, 2005). There are nearly 5.3 million Americans who have been barred from voting due to criminal conviction (Okechukwu, 2022). This is important to consider because the United States is unlike any other democratic country in the world by doing this.
Crimes are happening around us whether we pay attention to them or not. Those crimes as dangerous as murder are committed by all ages but should younger criminal in their juvenile age received the same punishment as older criminals. On June 25, 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that juveniles committed murder could not be sentenced to life in prison because it violates the Eighth Amendment.(On-Demand Writing Assignment Juvenile Justice) Advocates on the concurring side believes that mandatory life in prison is wrong and should be abolish. However, the dissenting side believe that keeping the there should be a life in prison punishment for juvenile who commit heinous crime regardless of their age.
Those who find themselves sentenced to time in a penitentiary, jail, or prison are at risk of either being broken or strengthened by the time they spend behind bars. There is a great debate of whether or not the prison system in the United States is positive or negative. The following will briefly highlight the positives, negatives, and possible alternatives for our nation's prison system. First, there is a long list of negatives that the prison system in America brings. The prison system is filled with crime, hate, and negativity almost as much as the free world is.
A few other States have abolished parole board release for certain violent or felony offenders (Alaska, New York, Tennessee, and Virginia) or for certain crimes against a person (Louisiana). California still allows discretionary release by a parole board only for offenders with indeterminate life sentences. In general, States still have the right to restrict the possibility of parole board release based on the offender’s criminal history or their circumstances of the offense that they did. While discretionary release from prison by a parole board has been eliminated by some States, post-release supervision still exists and is generally referred to as community or supervised release. Parole boards, in various forms, have the responsibility to set conditions of release for offenders under conditional or supervised release, the authority to return an offender to prison for violating the conditions of parole or supervised release, and the power to grant parole for medical reasons.
Felon disenfranchisement did not start in the United States. In fact, the practice of felon disenfranchisement began in ancient Greece and Rome before evolving even more in England with “outlawry”, by the time this practice came to the United States it began to evolve into what it is today based on the other nations practices (Grady, 2012, pp. 443-445). Felon disenfranchisement, for those who do not know, is taking away a felon’s right to vote. Usually, this only occurs when they are incarcerated, but some states also do not allow the ex-felons to vote even when they are back in regular society. In Michigan, felons are granted their right to vote again once they are freed from incarceration.
Medical Parole Judgements The decision of whether a prisoner should receive parole, even after the minimum time has been served, is difficult. A person who could potentially be a danger to society should never be released with lightheartedness, and that is doubly true when considering whether their medical condition is a sufficient reason for release. It is easy to see someone who is unwell as rehabilitated; empathy and sympathy often push people to think better of the sufferer. However, while research on parole generally favors leniency in most cases, a blanket judgement for each inmate is not an option that should be pursued.
V. PRISON REFORMS The main part of this research paper is the reforms for the conditions of prison and make prison a better place for prisoner and make an alternative for incarceration. The prison Reform for prevention of overcrowding in prisons: A ten-point method for reducing the overcrowding in the prisons all over the world, these points are1: 1. Collect and use data to inform a rational, humane and cost-effective use of prison.
Offenders under this form of supervision have absolutely no contact with a parole or probation officer. They are still under conditional release, however, and if they commit another crime, their original parole or probation will be revoked. This classification is used after low-risk offenders demonstrate a food adjustment to supervision. After reclassification, this supervision may be assigned. Classification of offenders in the community is an important tool in determining services for rehabilitation and protecting the community from those more likely to re-offend.
Custody sentences are for punishment, rehabilitation and education, however, there are different views to youth imprisonment. Some critics say if you commit a crime you should take responsibility and jail will give you a ‘short sharp shock’ and you will receive rehabilitation. Whilst some say it is damaging to children and would lead to further reoffending once they are out due to learning crimes off other criminals. Evidence does suggest that children who have more than one risk factor present are more than likely to be involved in criminal activities (Hopkins Burke, 2016 p. 232). There are three penal institutions sometimes called secure estates - local authority secure children's homes, secure training centres and young offender’s institutes.
Examining Problems and Their Solutions in The Parole System The United States of America contains the third largest population in the world, which contradicts the fact that the United States has the largest prison population in the world (Aliprandini, and Finley). The fact that their prison population is so large alludes to the reason they would have a strong parole system. Due to contrary belief, this is not the case.