Parole Board
From Free net encyclopedia
A Parole Board is a panel of people who decide whether a criminal should be allowed to be released from prison following him or her serving the minimum term of their sentence. Parole Boards are used in many jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and the states of the United States.
A Parole Board consists of people qualified to make judgements about the suitability of a prisoner for return to free society. Members may be judges, psychiatrists or criminologists. 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 not does not form an opinion about whether the initial sentencing was appropriate.
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Around the world
United Kingdom
There are two Parole Boards in the United Kingdom. The Parole Board of England and Wales carries out parole functions for people convicted in English and Welsh courts. A similar Board operates in Scotland.
The England and Wales Board was formed as part of the Criminal Justice Act 1967. The functions it performs were updated in the Criminal Justice Act 1991 and the Board became a non-departmental public body in 1996. The Parole Board (Transfer of Functions) Order of 1998 delegated authority from the Home Secretary to the Parole Board chairman to make decisions on prisoners whose sentences are under fifteen years in length. For those prisoners who make applications for parole for sentences over 15 years, the Board merely makes a recommendation to the Home Secretary who has final authority. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 made extensive changes to the system, with the effect that release of determinate sentence prisoners is now automatic once they have served the requisite custodial period. The Parole Board is only involved where prisoners are subject to an extended sentence, and in reconsidering decisions to recall prisoners.
In Scotland, the Parole Board for Scotland operates under the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993. It continues to take decisions on the release of prisoners serving sentences of over 4 years (who may be released after they have served one half of their sentence, and must be released after serving two-thirds), extended sentences, life prisoners, and recall to custody. The Scottish early release system is currently being examined by the Sentencing Commission for Scotland, and the Scottish Executive has announced its intention to bring forward legislation in 2006/07 to reform the system.
United States
In the US, parole boards often bow to public pressure on parolees, usually due to media attention on significant or widely known cases. Oftentimes, consideration of the opinion of the victim(s) or their family is taken at least partly into account in the board's final determination.