Early Release program: US Prison System

Introduction

Sooner or later, almost every incarcerated person is released back into society. Early release is the means by which a convicted offender, serving a sentence in some type of correctional facility, is discharged some time before completing his or her total term, be it days, months, or years. The released prisoner, however, is not completely free and usually must adhere to a considerable number of conditions. Violations of these conditions can lead to the repeal of his or her freedom, and the convict may have to serve out the rest of the original sentence. (Walker, 32) Over time, a variety of such programs have evolved throughout the United States. Parole, perhaps the most famous of early release programs, is but one of countless local and national policies, from halfway houses to boot camps, responsible for moving inmates out of custody and into a situation of provisional liberty before their time under governmental control is up. The practice is burdened with practical concerns as well as controversy, and its design and implementation are affected by the political, ideological, and philosophical opinions of the day. Early release has changed dramatically over time, as have the justifications, complaints, and methodology shaping and driving this integral component of American corrections.

History

Early release is not applicable to all forms of punishment; a flogging in the town square, for example, does not lend itself to the possibility of emancipation before completion. Until the birth of the penitentiary at the dawn of the nineteenth century, most sanctions could be modified only by a lessening of severity or total reprieve.

During the same time that prisons were taking shape in America, Governor Philip King began a practice in Australia—then a penal colony of the British Empire—that would prove to be the forerunner of early release. English convicts were transported to New South Wales, on the east coast of the colony, as a form of punishment. They served considerable time and were forced to do hard labor for the duration of their sentence. King, who was governor from 1800 to 1806, granted to convicts who showed the ability to support themselves something called a “ticket-of-leave,” essentially an early form of parole. “Gentlemen offenders” who arrived at the colony with means or letters of introduction also received this special dispensation. Men with a ticket-of-leave were free to make their own way in New South Wales before completing their sentence. They were, in effect, released early.

Later in the century, Ralph Darling, governor of New South Wales from 1826 to 1831, sought to reinstate the eroded punitive character of the penal colony; once a feared and awful place, it had developed a reputation as an excellent place for a man to make his way. Under Darling, tickets-of-leave became a reward available only to those who had served at least a minimum sentence and then had been evaluated as deserving. This approach required a method for keeping abreast of convict behavior. Darling assigned numbers to each convict; record-keeping became systematized ...