Parole, parole boards and the institutional dilemmas of contemporary prison release

Guiney, Thomas C.

Abstract

The decision to release is a defining feature of the carceral experience: at once a necessary function of a dynamic penal system, and a highly contested form of symbolic communication where the anxieties and contradictions of contemporary penality begin to coalesce. In this paper I argue that the institutions we rely upon to make these determinations in a fair, consistent and efficient manner are under increasing strain. Drawing upon insights from historical institutionalism, I seek to show that the parole board model of discretionary decision-making that first emerged during the highwater mark of mid-twentieth century penal modernism has proved remarkably resilient to reform, but is slowly fracturing into a more complex, multi-layered prison release landscape. I explore the implications of this gradual historical transformation and conclude this paper with a call for new ways of thinking about prison release as an increasingly interconnected sphere of penal governance.

Citation

Guiney, T. C. (2023). Parole, parole boards and the institutional dilemmas of contemporary prison release. Punishment and Society, 25(3), 621-640. https://doi.org/10.1177/14624745221097371

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 17, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Apr 27, 2022
• Publication Date: 2023-07
• Deposit Date: Apr 27, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 28, 2022
• Journal: Punishment and Society
• Print ISSN: 1462-4745
• Electronic ISSN: 1741-3095
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 25
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 621-640
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/14624745221097371
• Keywords: Law; Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/7834821
• Publisher URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14624745221097371