Release from Prison

Abstract

Parole is often misunderstood, and the general public confuses it with probation. Parole and probation both involve the supervision of offenders in the community. Probation, however, is almost always an alternative to incarceration, whereas offenders on parole have been released after serving prison terms. Parole is a French word, meaning "word," as in giving one's word of honor or promise. It has come to mean an inmate's promise to behave in a law-abiding manner and according to certain rules in exchange for release. Parole is part of the general nineteenth-century trend in criminology that progressed from punishment to reformation. Early European Foundations and the Growth of Parole Chief credit for developing the early parole system is given to Captain Alexander Maconochie (1787-1860). Before Maconochie, prison sentences carried no element of positive conditioning. Inmates worked for the state or as indentured servants and were released upon the completion of a fixed sentence. They were also subjected to harsh physical punishment. Maconochie found this system ineffective and reprehensible. He criticized definite prison terms and developed a system of rewards for good conduct, labor, and study. Through his classification procedure called the "mark system ," prisoners could progress through stages of increasing responsibility and ultimately gain freedom. The five stages were: (1) strict imprisonment , (2) labor on government chain gangs, (3) freedom within a limited area, (4) a ticket of leave on parole resulting in a conditional pardon, and (5) full restoration of liberty. The exact sentence was always "indeterminate": dependent upon the The Encyclopedia of Corrections. Edited by Kent R. Kerley.