ABSTRACT
This chapter describes how the evolution of parole in the United States shapes parole and prisoner reentry today. It identifies the mechanisms by which parole is provided, monitored, and revoked. The chapter explains the differences between release based on states with determinate and indeterminate sentencing and describes the challenges of prisoner reentry. It also explains why collateral consequences can serve as a barrier to prisoner reentry. Many members of the public consider it an injustice that ex-prisoners are returned to the community before the end of their prison sentences, free to commit new crimes before they have fully paid their debt to society for the old ones. Captain Alexander Maconochie is considered the father of parole. Maconochie’s ideas about reform and preparing inmates for their return to the community proved popular in the United Kingdom and led to prison reforms. Like other aspects of the corrections system, as time passed the practice of parole evolved and became more formalized.
