Parole Is The Release Of A Convicted Offender - 1230 Words

Parole is the release of a convicted offender after he or she has completed a portion of his or her prison sentence (Alarid Del Carmen, 2012). Probation is a form of sentence for violating the law, which suspends the convicted offender’s sentence for a period of time and releases the offender back into the community under specific conditions (Alarid Del Carmen, 2012). The start of probation can be linked to England’s criminal law. During Henry VIII’s time, harsh sanctions were placed on adults and children for violations of the law that were sometimes minor (New York City Government, 2015). The upper class members of the society eventually became dissatisfied with the harsh punishments and became bothered with the change of the†¦show more content†¦Before the mid-nineteenth century offenders received determinate sentences in prison (Rank, n.d.). Determinate sentence is a non-negotiable sentence of incarceration for the specific amount of time as required by statute for that specific crime (U.S. Legal, 2015). Determinate sentencing became problematic because prisons were often overcrowded, which forced governors to issue pardons or prison wardens had to randomly release inmates to make room for new intake (Rank, n.d.). Captain Alexander Maconochie and Sir Walter Crofton are credited for implementing early parole system in England (Rank, n.d.). Maconochie was governor of an English penal colony at Norfolk Island (Rank, n.d.). Convicted English offenders were transported to Australia from England and from Australia to the island; unfortunately, the conditions were extremely bad for the offenders (Rank, n.d.). Maconochie discontinued determinate sentencing and created a â€Å"mark system† (Rank, n.d.). Under the â€Å"mark system†, inmates could be granted release from prison based upon their hard work and good behavior (Rank, n.d.). Inmates earned marks, which were used to buy a reduction in sentence or goods; unfortunately, inmates had to undergo a variety of stages before they were released and the climbing through the stages depended on the number of marks received (Rank, n.d.). Similar to Maconochie, Sir Walter Crofton was convinced that the prison sentence should not