Parole seems to be making a comeback. Although it was a universal feature of the American criminal justice system as recently as forty years ago, parole fell into precipitous decline over the final three decades of the twentieth century. By 2000, fifteen states and the federal government had abolished parole altogether, while twenty additional states had formally restricted its availability. Since 2000, however, many states have enhanced release opportunities for prison inmates (although some still resist the “parole” label for their new programs).
For an article I am working on, I have been collecting information about the states in the latter category. I count twenty-eight. What I have so far appears in a table after the jump.
| Alabama | 2008: established new program permitting early release of certain older inmates with serious medical conditions[1] |
| Arkansas | 2003: authorized early release of nonviolent offenders to reduce prison overcrowding[2] 2005: authorized transfer of inmates to community-based transitional housing up to one year before parole eligibility[3] |
| California | 2009: expanded earned-time opportunities; permitted parole to be granted without a hearing in some cases[4] |
| Colorado | 2009: expanded number of good-time credits that can be earned per month; authorized Department of Corrections to deduct additional sixty days from sentence of nonviolent inmates for good behavior[5] |
| Connecticut | 2005: expanded parole eligibility; authorized transfer of inmates to community-based residences within final eighteen months before release date; established compassionate release program for inmates who are elderly or ill[6] |
| Delaware | 2008: authorized earned-time credit for participation in prison programs[7] |
| Georgia | 2009: expanded eligibility for work release and transitional centers for violent offenders during final year of incarceration[8] |
| Illinois | 2007: authorized earned-time credits for inmates who earn GED[9] |
| Kansas | 2007: authorized earned-time credits for completion of certain programs by low-level offenders[10] |
| Kentucky | 2008: permitted shift to home confinement for nonviolent offenders within 180 days of release date; authorized earned-release credits for completion of drug treatment and education programs[11] 2009: expanded parole eligibility for inmates convicted of certain low-level felonies[12] |
| Louisiana | 2001: reestablished parole eligibility for certain nonviolent offenders[13] 2008: increased earned-time available for inmates serving consecutive sentences[14]2009: authorized parole for inmates serving life sentences for heroin offenses[15]; authorized earned-time credits for participation in approved treatment programs[16] |
| Maine | 2007: permitted inmate work hours to be applied toward good time[17] 2009: expanded eligibility for release for terminally ill inmates[18] |
| Maryland | 2004: authorized early release of certain offenders for drug treatment in the community[19] 2007: established parole eligibility for certain offenders sentenced to a mandatory minimum[20]2009: expanded conditional release eligibility for nonviolent offenders[21] |
| Michigan | 2002: established parole eligibility for certain drug offenders[22] |
| Minnesota | 2005: authorized early release of certain nonviolent drug offenders[23] |
| Mississippi | 2001: reduced amount of time that first-time, nonviolent offenders must serve before becoming eligible for parole; created programs permitting certain inmates to obtain earned-time credits[24] 2004: authorized transfer of terminally ill inmates to community supervision; increased sentence reduction based on participation in trusty programs[25]2005: expanded parole eligibility for certain drug offenders[26]
2008: restored parole eligibility for nonviolent offenders; authorized release of terminally ill inmates regardless of time served[27] 2009: expanded early-release credits for participation in education programs[28] |
| Nevada | 2007: increased maximum number of possible good-time credits[29] 2009: permitted parole violators to earn good-time credits; authorized parole without a hearing for some offenders; expanded eligibility for residential confinement[30] |
| New York | 2004: authorized certain drug offenders to petition for resentencing; increased merit-time credits[31] 2005: expanded resentencing possibilities to new class of drug offenders[32]2009: expanded eligibility for early release through Shock Incarceration Program; authorized medical parole for inmates suffering permanent disabilities; increased merit-time credits[33] |
| North Carolina | 2001: expanded programs through which earned-time credit might be obtained[34] 2008: established procedures for medical parole[35] |
| Ohio | 2008: streamlined procedures for medical and other early-release programs[36] |
| Oregon | 2009: expanded earned-time credit opportunities[37] |
| Pennsylvania | 2008: adopted risk-reduction sentences to give inmates early-release opportunity based on participation in programs designed to reduce recidivism[38] |
| Tennessee | 2007: authorized earned-time credits for inmates who complete certain programs[39] |
| Texas | 2009: eliminated life without parole for juveniles[40]; authorized Department of Criminal Justice to restore lost good-time credits[41] |
| Virginia | 2001: expanded eligibility for geriatric release[42] |
| Washington | 2003: increased amount of potential good-time credit from thirty-three to fifty percent of total sentence[43] 2007: authorized earned-time credits for participation in programming[44]2009: expanded eligibility for early release for medical reasons[45] |
| Wisconsin | 2009: adopted risk-reduction sentences to give inmates early-release opportunity based on participation in programs designed to reduce recidivism; established “positive adjustment” time; expanded eligibility for medical parole[46] |
| Wyoming | 2008: authorized earned time and medical parole[47] |
[1] Tina Chiu, Vera Institute for Justice, It’s About Time: Aging Prisoners, Increasing Costs, and Geriatric Release 10 (2010).
[2] Ryan S. King, The Sentencing Project, The State of Sentencing 2007, at 13 (2008) [hereinafter King, 2007].
[3] Ryan S. King, The Sentencing Project, Changing Direction? State Sentencing Reforms, 2004-2006, at 13 (2009) [hereinafter King, Changing Direction].
[4] National Conference of State Legislatures, Significant State Sentencing and Corrections Legislation in 2009 (2010), at http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=19122.
[5] Alison Lawrence, National Conference of State Legislatures, Cutting Corrections Costs: Earned Time Policies for State Prisoners 4 (2009).
[6] King, Changing Direction, supra note 3, at 12.
[7] National Conference of State Legislatures, Significant State Sentencing and Corrections Legislation in 2007 and 2008 (2010), at http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=12682 [hereinafter National Conference, 2007-2008].
[8] National Conference of State Legislatures, supra note 4.
[9] National Conference, 2007-2008, supra note 7.
[10] Lawrence, supra note 5, at 6.
[11] Ryan S. King, The Sentencing Project, The State of Sentencing 2008, at 4 (2009) [hereinafter King, 2008].
[12] Nicole D. Porter, The Sentencing Project, The State of Sentencing 2009, at 3 (2010).
[13] Ryan S. King & Marc Mauer, The Sentencing Project, State Sentencing and Corrections Policy in an Era of Fiscal Restraint 5 (2002).
[14] National Conference, 2007-2008, supra note 7.
[15] Porter, supra note 12, at 7.
[16] Id. at 13.
[17] National Conference, 2007-2008, supra note 7.
[18] National Conference of State Legislatures, supra note 4.
[19] King, Changing Direction, supra note 3, at 6.
[20] King, 2007, supra note 2, at 10.
[21] National Conference of State Legislatures, supra note 4.
[22] Judith Greene & Marc Mauer, The Sentencing Project, Downscaling Prisons: Lessons from Four States 28 (2010).
[23] King, Changing Direction, supra note 3, at 14.
[24] King & Mauer, supra note 13, at 5, 9.
[25] King, Changing Direction, supra note 3, at 14.
[26] Id.
[27] King, 2008, supra note 11, at 4-5.
[28] Porter, supra note 12, at 3.
[29] King, 2007, supra note 2, at 14.
[30] National Conference of State Legislatures, supra note 4.
[31] King, Changing Direction, supra note 3, at 15-16.
[32] Id. at 16.
[33] Greene & Mauer, supra note 22, at 25.
[34] King & Mauer, supra note 13, at 10.
[35] National Conference, 2007-2008, supra note 7.
[36] Id.
[37] Id.
[38] Christine S. Scott-Hayward, Vera Institute of Justice, The Fiscal Crisis in Corrections: Rethinking Policies and Practices 11(2009).
[39] National Conference, 2007-2008, supra note 7.
[40] Porter, supra note 12, at 3.
[41] Id. at 14.
[42] Chiu, supra note 1, at 9.
[43] Lawrence, supra note 5, at 3.
[44] National Conference, 2007-2008, supra note 7.
[45] Chiu, supra note 1, at 9.
[46] National Conference of State Legislatures, supra note 4.
[47] National Conference, 2007-2008, supra note 7.
Cross posted at Life Sentences Blog.