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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 5h

🗓️ TODAY!

Parole can & should be a meaningful pathway for release. But for too many, it is out of reach.

Join us to discuss how to make parole a system that safely reduces prison populations, strengthens families, & promotes public safety.

Register: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Flyer for the webinar. Click the link in this post for details.

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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 23h

Parole is a powerful release mechanism that can significantly reduce how many people are behind bars – yet across the U.S., parole boards are giving fewer people a chance.

This is not a system that values "reform" and second chances.

Graphs showing that almost every parole board in 30 states is holding fewer hearings now than in 2019

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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 1d

As it stands, parole is complicated and dysfunctional – but it's a system worth having if states can implement it fairly and broadly.

Learn more here from our new two-part report👇
www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/paro...

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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 1d

By our calculations, discretionary parole is a broken promise for over 110,000 people annually!

But it's not beyond repair – parole systems can implement reforms, like:
➡️ Expanding parole boards
➡️ Ensuring accessible hearings
➡️ Clarifying guidelines & omitting static factors

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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 1d

The way most parole statutes are written, parole can be denied for nearly any reason at all, and it sends a harmful message: The board neither recognizes nor rewards transformation.

The current state of parole is clearly a bottleneck to release, contrary to its original intent.

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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 1d

In fact, fewer people are being released now than in 2019, and almost every parole board is holding fewer hearings now compared to 5 years ago:

Graphs showing that almost every parole board in 29 states is releasing fewer people now than in 2019

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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 1d

Most applicants don't pose a risk to the community, so an effective parole system would start with the presumption of release, then require boards to justify why release is inappropriate

But that's not what's happening across the U.S.

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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 1d

It's important to understand that the burden is on the parole applicant, not the parole board, to demonstrate readiness through these guidelines.

Across most state parole systems, the applicant must show that they'll lead "a correct life" (whatever that means)...

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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 1d

Parole boards have guidelines for these decisions – which usually range from vague and antiquated to highly specific and difficult for parole applicants to meet:

Chart showing that parole release decisions lean heavily on static factors (like criminal history) rather than growth and preparation

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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 1d

Parole hearings also vary in panel size, whether or not they are public, and overall transparency.

So now that we’ve covered how parole boards are formed & what hearings can look like, how are parole decisions made?

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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 1d

Some states also heavily utilize virtual parole hearings.

While better than nothing, a virtual hearing is objectively different from in-person: It is less desirable for conveying emotions, establishing eye contact, and building trust through non-verbal communication.

U.S. map showing that only UT, OK, MD, RI, and NH have parole hearings in person with nearly all parole applicants.

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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 1d

Board composition is just one piece of the complex parole puzzle. All boards serve the same important function – but the manner in which they do it can vary.

For example, 7 states bar applicants from having legal representation at hearings – a crucial form of support:

U.S. map showing that IA, AL, GA, MD, NY, VT, and CT prohibit parole applicants from having legal representation at their release hearings.

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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 1d

Without representation for these experiences, parole boards may never truly reflect populations that understand life behind bars.

People with experiential knowledge can also provide more accurate & practical insight into reentry and supervision:

www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...

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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 1d

In most states, nearly anyone can serve on a parole board – but some states favor law enforcement experience, and NONE require any members to be formerly incarcerated or have lived experience within the criminal legal system.

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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 1d

For example, when New York Governor Kathy Hochul took office, she faced intense scrutiny over filling chronic parole board vacancies and appointing people who favored decarceration and parole based on rehabilitation:

nysfocus.com/2022/02/08/z...

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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 1d

In 34 out of the 35 states we examined, the governor is involved in parole board appointments.

Board members are, therefore, political appointees, and governors can (and arguably do) use this power to embed their values into the criminal legal system.

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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 1d

Parole systems vary from state to state, but across the board, our research finds that they are:
❌Politically motivated
❌Under-resourced
❌Largely dysfunctional

Let's start with how parole boards operate.

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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 1d

🚨NEW REPORT: Parole is one of the most powerful release mechanisms that could significantly reduce the number of people behind bars. But across the U.S., parole systems are dysfunctional, to say the least.

We examine how parole boards work, and how parole decisions are made 🧵

U.S. map showing 33 states with discretionary parole systems for most people serving sentences of incarceration

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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 1d

A reminder as the National Guard is weaponized against more cities:

Policing & crime do not go hand in hand. Incarceration rates in every single U.S. state are out of line with the entire world, and this disparity is not explainable by differences in crime or “violent crime.”

Scatterplot showing that the U.S. incarcerates more of its population than any other nation – including nations that have similar or higher rates of crime. Source: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/global/2021.html

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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 2d

Parole can & should be a meaningful pathway for release. But for too many, it is out of reach.

Join us on Oct 8th, to discuss how to make parole a system that safely reduces prison populations, strengthens families, & promotes public safety.

Register: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 2d

🚨NEW: Everyone in Texas is supposed to have an equal voice, but an outdated Census Bureau policy counts incarcerated people in the wrong place, giving a few residents a megaphone – aka prison gerrymandering #txleg

The state can fix this. Here's how👇

Federal Census policy breaks Texas’s democracy — state lawmakers can fix it

Texas’s redistricting data was once again skewed after the 2020 Census; the state needs to take action to fix the issue for 2030.

www.prisonersofthecensus.org

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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 2d

Private prisons are bad, but they’re a small part of the system.

Mass incarceration is driven by public policy & spending — choices made by your elected officials.

Pie chart showing that only 8% of confined people are held in private prisons

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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 3d

Among the 35 jail births identified in the news over 10 years, jail staff ignored repeated cries for help or medical assistance in at least 24 cases.

The carceral system is no place for pregnant people.

www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2025/07...

Infographic showing the outcomes of 35 in-jail childbirths reported by media, 2013-2023

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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 3d

Compared to the general population, unhoused people are held in jail for 3.5x as long, despite typically being charged with the lowest level crimes

It’s safe to assume that unaffordable cash bail is to blame. No one should have to stay behind bars because they can't afford bail

Graph titled: Unhoused people languish in jail more than 3x as long as the typical defendant.

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Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · 4d

Sanctuary cities, counties, and states are not immune from ICE's arrest & deportation agenda – but these policies DO make a difference in limiting the criminalization of immigration:

Data from May 2025 showing that in states like California and Massachusetts, which have sanctuary policies limiting collaboration with federal immigration authorities, field operations have been the source of the majority of ICE arrests. In Florida and Texas, where state and local officials have enthusiastically collaborated with federal authorities, most ICE arrests have taken place in local jails.

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