Parole, parole boards and the institutional dilemmas of contemporary prison release
The decision to release is a defining feature of the carceral experience: at once a necessary function of a dynamic penal system, and a highly contested form of symbolic communication where the anxieties and contradictions of contemporary penality begin to coalesce. In this paper I argue that the in...
Autor principal: | |
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Tipo de documento: | Electrónico Artículo |
Lenguaje: | Inglés |
Publicado: |
2023
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En: |
Punishment & society
Año: 2023, Volumen: 25, Número: 3, Páginas: 621-640 |
Acceso en línea: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Verificar disponibilidad: | HBZ Gateway |
Palabras clave: |
Sumario: | The decision to release is a defining feature of the carceral experience: at once a necessary function of a dynamic penal system, and a highly contested form of symbolic communication where the anxieties and contradictions of contemporary penality begin to coalesce. In this paper I argue that the institutions we rely upon to make these determinations in a fair, consistent and efficient manner are under increasing strain. Drawing upon insights from historical institutionalism, I seek to show that the parole board model of discretionary decision-making that first emerged during the highwater mark of mid-twentieth century penal modernism has proved remarkably resilient to reform, but is slowly fracturing into a more complex, multi-layered prison release landscape. I explore the implications of this gradual historical transformation and conclude this paper with a call for new ways of thinking about prison release as an increasingly interconnected sphere of penal governance. |
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ISSN: | 1741-3095 |
DOI: | 10.1177/14624745221097371 |