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Parole and Truth in Sentencing

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Brockway Zebulon introduced parole in the United States in the year 1876. Parole reduced jail overcrowding, as well as offering to rehabilitate prisoners by encouraging them to earn their way out of prison through good behavior. Parole involves the supervision of a criminal after serving all or part of jail term, the convict is allowed to live in the community under supervision, the parole period is dependent on the decisions made by the board of parole, violation of parole will result into re-imprisonment of the convict.

A prisoner’s parole is based on many factors including time served, good behavior or recommendations from prison staff or the parole board. Many prisoners may be give early parole for lesser crimes because of prison overcrowding. A prisoner may also be denied for parole if a family of a person who was hurt or killed comes forth with a convincing plea as to why the prisoner should not be released. In North Carolina, the goals for Truth in Sentencing are as follows:
• Classify criminal offenses into felony and misdemeanor categories on the basis of their severity;
• Recommend structures for use by a sentencing court in determining the most appropriate sentence to be imposed in a criminal case;
• Develop a correctional population simulation model;
• Recommend a comprehensive community corrections strategy and organizational structure for the State; and,
• Study and make additional policy recommendations.
A number of states also have adopted varying types of truth-in-sentencing legislation in recent years. These have been developed in a variety of ways -- as part of efforts to abolish parole, to adopt certain kinds of determinate sentencing guidelines and to implement other sentencing reforms. The impact of truth in sentencing will vary tremendously depending on the type of policy adopted and the goals behind it. In 2007, North

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