Abolish Parole?

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R5ESPONSE:

1. Read the most recent Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin on Probation and Parole in the United States at:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pubalp2.htm#Probation by selecting the Bulletin link that corresponds to the latest year (e.g., Probation and Parole in the United States, 2003).

See http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/ppus06.pdf for the 2006 statistics, with the highlights summarized at the end of this response for convenience. Between 2005 and 2006 the number of parolees increased dramatically. In 2006, for example, the combined probation and parole populations grew by 1.8% or 87,852 persons.

2. Outline arguments for and against the abolishment of state-adjudicated parole in a 200-300 word response. Break down the rationale behind each argument.

ARGUMENTS FOR PAROLE ABOLITION

1. Abolition will save lives and money

This is why Virginia pushed through legislation, which took effect on January 1, 1995 that will impose penalties for rape, murder, and armed robbery more than twice the national average for those crimes. We have abolished parole, established the principle of truth-in-sentencing, and increased as much as five-fold the amount of time that violent offenders will actually spend in jail. Experience vindicates what commonsense has always told us: The only foolproof crime-prevention technique is incarceration (see full argument at URL: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3647/is_199504/ai_n8713939).

2. Abolition OF PAROLE cuts recidivism

The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services reported a decline in the statewide crime rate and recidivism and a slowing in the incarceration rate in the 10 years since the state abolished parole. Although the prison population increased 30 percent to more than 35,000 since adoption of the law in January 1995, the numbers are one-third lower than the state legislature predicted in The slowing of the incarceration rate-which follows national trends-has also driven state policy into leasing ...