Revisiting Parole Decision Making: Testing for the Punitive Hypothesis in a Large U.S. Jurisdiction

The decision to grant conditional release from prison (aka the parole decision) has been largely neglected in the contemporary criminological literature, despite its critical implications. The current study, conducted in Pennsylvania, United States, tests for punitive themes in parole decision making by examining the impact of several measures reflective of punishment satisfaction on the decision to grant release to eligible parole candidates. The results indicate that the amount of time served in relation to the original punishment does not predict parole decisions but the nature of the original offense does. Moreover, inmates eligible for parole have to experience at least one parole denial to increase their chances of release, suggesting that parole decision makers use the parole process as a punitive means. The implications of the findings are discussed.