From: Michael Lorrey (mike@datamann.com)
Date: Tue Jan 30 2001 - 13:05:35 MST
Charlie Stross wrote:
>
> On Tue, Jan 30, 2001 at 06:56:26AM -0800, Brian D Williams wrote:
> >
> >
> > >The only problem here is that it sounds like parole is automatic,
> > >in the system you're describing. The system *I'm* describing is
> > >one where it isn't automatic: you qualify for it by good
> > >behaviour. Clear?
> >
> > Yes, it is pretty much automatic the way it is enacted now. We
> > agree that early release is omething they must actively work for
> > and qualify for.
>
> Culture shock, again: in the UK, eligibility for early release
> isn't automatic -- bad behaviour leads to forfeiture. If you're
> telling me that in the USA, if you go to prison and are eligible
> for parole you *automatically* get let out early, I just have to
> say I find that bizarre ...
This depends. The thugs who executed the pediatrician (and his wife and
son) who delivered me and my siblings came up for parole, but my parents
led a successful media campaign to deny them parole despite good
behavior. We have no victim notification laws in most jurisdictions here
in the US, so victims and their families frequently have no idea when
the criminals that victimized them are scheduled to get out of prison or
go up before parole boards. The liberal states even say that notifying
victims violates the prisoners privacy rights. The only reason my
parents found out was because of political connections. Sometimes you'll
get a cop who cares and will go behind the law to tell families what is
happening.
The only laws that run counter to this tend to be sex offenders, who
generally get run out of town in the more heinous cases.
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