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Essay Parole Should Be Abolished

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Parole Should Be Abolished

The procedure known as “parole” in the criminal justice system has been in practice in the United States since the late 1800’s when it was begun in a reformatory in Elmira, New York. It’s process provides for early conditional release from prison for convicted felons, after part of their prison sentence has been served, and they are found to be eligible for parole based on factors such as: conduct while incarcerated, rehabilitative efforts/progress, type of offense, and remorse for their crime. Its use has been expanded to many states, and today has become the primary way by which offenders are released from prisons and correctional institutions. Unfortunately, parole is not always rewarded to worthy …show more content…

Unfortunately, most parolees I worked with were not in touch with new technology, lacked communication skills, and had no money to travel to and from interviews, nor proper clothing. They quickly relapsed into old habits such as drug trafficking, stealing, and burglary to survive their need for money, food, and other amenities. It is obvious that hardships such as these make parolees repeat offenders. They end up back in prison to complete the remainder of their sentence, and sometimes serve out new sentences for new crimes committed. The parole board does not sufficiently scrutinize the job readiness of the inmates they plan to release, and things such as verbal and writing skills are ignored. An inmate can not be expected to survive as a parolee if he is not prepared to market himself for employment.

If there is no job, there is no money, and if there is no money desperation sets in and makes room for crime such as robbing, burglary, and drug trafficking. This is not to say that all inmates are unqualified to be released because of poor job readiness, but other inmates who are job ready lack responsibility and sane judgement because of poor rehabilitation programs short in duration, or not available. Screening is also poor because parole boards have not come up with a better way to verify the sincerity of the inmate when he goes before the panel. For example: there are plenty of inmates that have gone through the parole system before

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