Thread by @ScottHech

A 56 y/o man on parole living in a half-way house was shot in back when picking up donations from Nipsey Hussle. Caught in line of fire. Arrested & now jailed by parole for associating with “known gang member.” Facing re-incarceration. Parole is a problem. fox6now.com/2019/04/12/tmz…

People on parole already face near impossible challenges. A record excludes you from most housing, jobs, benefits. Then add on average 20 restrictions from curfew & onerous reporting to no events w/ alcohol & no associating w/ anyone w/ a record. One slip could mean prison.

Majority of parole violations are “technical” violations of these strict rules NOT new arrests. In NY: These violations make up 1/3 of ALL new prison admissions. And before prison, people spend on average 99 days in jail awaiting their hearing to ultimately send them there.

Due process barely exists. If parole officer says there was a violation you can be arrested. Once arrested, there is no right to release. No bail hearing. Jailed pending hearings that can take weeks/months to happen. No right to appointed counsel. Facing years. Sometimes life.

Parole originated as an “alternative to incarceration.” Supposed to be rehabilitative. Historically parole officers were trained social workers. Goal was rooted in fairness & logic. Help release more people earlier & give them tools to stay out of prison & heal. What happened?

The same forces that drove mass incarceration created “mass supervision.” Parole officers no longer trained in social work but in law enforcement. Punishment mentality took over. Rehabilitation didn’t just dissapear. It became impossible. I’ll explain:

While budget for prison grew in proportion to numbers of people being incarcerated, parole budgets stagnated. While parole numbers grew over 200% from 1980-2007, budget only increased 12%. Historically, parole would “step up” resources if things went wrong. No longer $$ for that.

Now there’s only one viable option if you violate conditions of parole: Incarceration. Parole incurs zero costs. All costs externalized onto prison budgets. Also: Parole officers, are inherently risk averse. Something goes wrong, they get blamed. Incarceration is “safe” option.

Kerry Lathan, the 56 y/o shooting victim, now wheelchair bound, is locked up in LA county jail & likely heading back to prison not bc he did anything wrong but bc of the failures of our parole system. Parole is not an alternative to incarceration. It is a perpetual punishment.

Good news: states finally starting to make needed changes: “Earned time credit”—For every 30 days successful get 30 days shaved off end of parole. Restrictions on incarceration for technical violations. The “Less is More” bill in NY would be transformative:nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-ope…

“Less is More” would:

-Prohibit arrests/incarceration for most technical violations.
-Give earned time credit for good behavior.
-Require robust due process severely restricting pre-hearing jail for parole arrests.
-Enhance rehabilitation. nysenate.gov//legislation/b…

For more on this issue, the history of probation and parole, movements across country, injustice & alternatives to this horrible, irrational, criminogenic status quo, read this excellent report by @VinSchiraldi & @Columbia Justice Labs👇.
justicelab.columbia.edu/sites/default/…

This thread obviously does not come close to covering all issues related to parole. Didnt even touch, i.e., issues on front end before release that keep far too many people from being able to access parole. But +1 to everything from @AlexesHarris here:

https://twitter.com/AlexesHarris/status/1117176561659072512