Future of Parole in the United States Research Paper

Future of Parole in the United States - Research Paper Example ing that early believers in the program thought offenders committed offenses through no fault of their own, forced into unfortunate circumstances, and therefore should be rehabilitated. The federal parole board increased to eight members in 1950, appointed by the President, with three of them assigned to youth corrections. By October of 1974 due to a pilot reorganization program the US Department of Justice had five regions with one member and five hearing examiners. Through the Parole Commission and Reorganization Act in 1976 the Board of Parole became known as the United States Parole Commission, independent of the DOJ (USDOJ: USPC: Our History). They adopted explicit parole guidelines, became affiliated with the Senate, disbanded from youth corrections, and created a Comprehensive Crime Control Act in 1984. The use of intermediate sentencing is the only sentencing that actually involves parole boards and they receive complete power in determining who is to be released. Intermediate sentencing does contain some positive factors and allows for full implementation of the rehabilitative ideal. It offers the highest and strictest level of protection from the more violent criminal offenders and also offers feasible alternatives to capital punishment. Parole decisions are also made with considerably more behavioral observation noted since the original trial and does not force corrections to release an inmate before they are ready to return to society. Negative factors involved with intermediate sentences are many with mostly criticism and onslaughts of impossibilities. Treatment is too expensive, training and rehabilitation not done, and even if treatment were honestly attempted by staffs, psychotherapy with involuntarily committed patients is generally considered difficult; indeterminate sentencing supplies only negative motivation, which will be insufficient for long-range results and the list continues. One of the most important factors I considered in this area