Parole and Revocation: Perspectives of Young Adult Offenders

Abstract

This article presents the findings of an exploratory study of parole release and parole failure as seen through the eyes of inmates who have been returned to prison following parole revocation. The small sample of revoked inmates was limited to parolees of a young adult offender (YAO) program. The YAO program was designed for young men who were (a) under the age of 18 at the time of conviction, (b) waived to the adult system, and (c) sentenced to a term of imprisonment in an adult prison. This research project used qualitative interviews to explore perceptions about parole supervision and revocation. The men described their experiences and thoughts about parole from the perspective of parole failure. The authors believe the insights of the men can inform discussions about reentry and efforts to enhance parole services for recently released inmates.Release from prison and reintegration of offenders into the free community are critical issues for all parties involved in correctional policy makingcorrections professionals, other criminal justice and related agency officials, academics, and most particularly offenders themselves. This article presents the results of a qualitative study of the parole experience as seen through the eyes of young men whose parole had been revoked and who had returned to prison. We interviewed young men from a special population: adolescents sentenced as adults to serve prison terms in an adult institution.The goal of qualitative research is to enter the world of the research participant and to see and understand that world as the participant does. For this project, we sought to understand what it is like to be a young man leaving prison and learning to negotiate the free community. Our purpose was to see

Voices of Parolees Attending Community College

“…For example, research reveals that prisoners taking college classes were motivated to become positive role models for their families (Heiser, 2007;Winterfield, 2009), and prisoners enjoyed taking college classes in prison because it helps them have a positive outlook while in prison (Bhatti, 2010;Heiser, 2007;Winterfield, 2009). In addition, our results affirm the importance of becoming a role model and actually taking college classes as had been revealed in the few previous qualitative studies of parolees (i.e., Hall, 2003;Hanrahan et al, 2005;Richards, 1992;Richards et al, 2004).…”

Informal Social Support Among Returning Young Offenders

“…The transition to living situations with caregivers was exacerbated in that most (six of nine of individuals in the sample) had been living with delinquent peers and engaging in illegal activities prior to incarceration, to both support and avoid scrutiny from family members and caregivers. Hanrahan, Gibbs, and Zimmerman (2005) reported that families often did what they could but that limited resources prevented them from providing meaningful assistance in many cases. Still, family ties were identified as critical.…”

Female Juvenile Offenders' Experience with Revocation

“…Hanrahan et al (2005) found that male offenders spoke about their experience of being released from a juvenile facility in a similar manner. Specifically, these men described a desire to interact with family members when released.…”