The Board of Prison Terms and Paroles and Indeterminate Sentencing: A Critique

Authors

Jack Meyerson

Abstract

The Board of Prison Terms and Paroles is given the authority to release most felons from prison when it has determined that the prisoner has been rehabilitated, regardless of the length of time the prisoner has served. Rehabilitation usually consists of satisfactory participation in a formal prison program designed to change the person's criminal behavior into behavior which is more acceptable. The Board has, however, become a target of manipulation by prisoners who indicate outward compliance with rehabilitation procedures in order to be deemed "rehabilitated" and therefore released from prison prior to the expiration of their maximum sentences. In order to alleviate this and other problems with the present system, it is suggested that much of the Board's discretion to release prisoners prior to the completion of their maximum terms be removed.

First Page

617

Recommended Citation

Jack Meyerson, The Board of Prison Terms and Paroles and Indeterminate Sentencing: A Critique, 51 Wash. L. Rev. 617 (1976).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wlr/vol51/iss3/8