Scenes of Prison
51. The Man Who Made Inmates Tremble
P arole is an early release program available to some inmates, but not all. It’s a second chance, and an inmate may become eligible for a parole if the original sentencing judge imposes a term of years that will allow it. It involves a mathematical calculation that must result in a parole eligibility date falling considerably earlier than a tentative release date (TRD). The length of parole supervision extends until the tentative release date is reached. This period of supervision must be long enough to make arranging the parole worth all the bother.
Parole can also be risky. When inmates are released back into the community on parole, there are always conditions. The most common conditions require inmates to maintain employment, abstinence from drugs and alcohol, a curfew, and staying out of trouble.
If an inmate loses his job, which can happen through no fault of his own, he must find another job, or he’ll come back to prison.
If he fails a random drug or alcohol breath test, he could also find himself locked up and on his way back.
If an inmate isn’t serious about getting control of himself and successfully completing his parole, then he’ll find himself coming back to prison with new charges, the least of which would be violating his parole.
Once back in the prison, a failed parolee could be worse off than if he’d stayed in prison and waited for his TRD. For many, parole is a gamble.
Classification studies complete the necessary parole eligibility calculations, and unit caseworkers present the opportunity to eligible inmates: “Do you want to try for a parole?” This allows the caseworker and the inmate to fashion a plan – a Parole Plan – that will outline self-help programs and educational programs an inmate will complete during his stay at the prison to prepare himself for parole and life outside the prison.
Periodically, the caseworker will prepare a Parole Progress Report and submit it to the Parole Board, and the Board will review this report and meet with the inmate. This periodic meeting is called a Parole Progress Review.
As the actual parole eligibility date approaches, these review meetings become more frequent, focused, and intense until, ultimately, the date arrives for the inmate to go before the Board for a Final Hearing. At this hearing, the Board may decide to grant a parole, or they may defer the parole decision for a specific period of time. Finally, they may also deny outright an inmate’s request for a parole.
Old John, the Chairman of the Nebraska Parole Board, was a terror at these reviews and hearings. He sat at the middle of the long conference table with other Parole Board members arrayed to each side of him. You wouldn’t think of him as frightening at all. He did not have an imposing appearance, but Old John, as inmates called him, never held anything back.
“So, why should we consider you for a parole when you bring us such a miserable institutional record as this?” he might ask.
“Why do you keep getting misconduct reports? Can’t you control yourself? What about these lousy work reports? You think anyone wants to hire a lazy worker out on the streets?”
“What have you to say to your victims? Where’s the remorse for all the suffering you’ve caused?” he might interject.
Inmates didn’t hear such comments from anyone else.
However, the most perilous time for inmates hoping for a parole was the Final Parole Hearing. Inmates called it “The Final” with much trepidation. They had good reason to be nervous.
“Everything looks good,” a caseworker may say, hoping to encourage an inmate on his way into the hearing room. The inmate has a place to live and a plan for a job. There is just this last time before Old John. Typically, family members are present, and victims may also show up, but the most dreaded person in the room was always Old John.
Other Board members sit to his left and his right, and the hearing begins. Questions are asked by the other board members first, and John listens carefully and doesn’t speak. It might seem that an inmate has everyone’s vote for a parole, but nothing is sure until Old John has his turn. When he begins, there will be no one speaking up for the inmate. He’s on his own with John, and if Old John is against parole, he won’t be a bit shy about telling the inmate exactly why he’s against it. Old John will tell the inmate to his face his objections. He’ll describe what it is about the inmate that brought him to prison and what's keeping him in prison, and he’ll list what the inmate has done and what he hasn’t done while in custody that leads John to his decision. It’s a thorough reaming out for many.
When Old John has finished, an inmate who has endured this scolding will have been shamed and humiliated in front of his family and friends. Parole denied, and his hoped-for plans for parole and early release will all be dashed. There will be no celebration this evening after all. Everyone will go home, and the inmate will go back to his cell.
Old John was tough. Old John struck terror in the hearts of even the most hardened criminals, but there wasn't much sympathy for the inmates. That’s why Nebraska governors kept reappointing Old John to be chairman of the Parole Board, and that’s how Old John got to be so old while still sitting right there at the middle of the table as the Chairman of the Nebraska Board of Parole.
Discussion
- Do you know anyone who has experienced parole? Describe what you have heard.
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