Parole in Perspective: A deep dive into discretionary parole systems

By Leah Wang    Tweet this
October 2025
Press release
Reporter guide

Parole, the release mechanism which could significantly reduce the number of people behind bars, has reached a moment of reckoning. Dysfunctional in some states and banned in others, parole looks really different from state to state. But parole is a system worth having, if states can implement it fairly and broadly.

This two-part report builds out work we started with the MacArthur Justice Center, which resulted in a “North Star” document of Parole Principles. These principles establish a vision of what our parole systems should look like, knowing that every state’s system is different and each faces different political realities.

We set out to surface some of the overlooked aspects of discretionary parole, particularly the stages before a parole release decision is made. We wanted to know about how parole boards are composed and how they do their work, how parole applicants navigate through preparing for and having their hearing, and how policy and practice translated into the latest parole grant rates.

This report is meant to serve as an essential resource for lawmakers, advocates, journalists, incarcerated people, and others interested in starting a deep dive into their own parole system and identifying impactful reforms.

Part 1: How parole boards and hearings work

In this part, we examine parole boards in 35 states with discretionary parole — how they're formed, who is appointed to them, and how they carry out their work. We also look into how parole hearings work, such as whether they are public, or held in person. Our policy scan reveals that states take wildly different approaches to parole boards and hearings, most of which are unlikely to provide a fair, efficient process for those who are eligible or become eligible for release through reform.

Part 2: How parole decisions are made

In this second part, we dive deeper into parole grant rates and the decisionmaking guidelines and realities that lead to those rates. We filed public records requests and pored through publicly available reports and data dashboards to find the number of parole hearings and grants in 2023 and 2024. In absolute terms, every state with discretionary parole is granting release to fewer people each year, and many are holding fewer parole hearings in 2024 compared to five years ago.


Appendix tables

  • Appendix 1: Parole board composition and hearing process information in 35 states with discretionary parole, 2025
  • Appendix 2: Parole grant rates and hearings in 35 states with discretionary parole, 2019 - 2024
  • Appendix 3: Statutory factors in parole decisionmaking in 35 states with discretionary parole, 2025
    • Appendix 3a: Release standards and guidelines for discretionary parole systems, 2025

About the author

Leah Wang is a Senior Research Analyst at the Prison Policy Initiative and is the author of multiple reports including Punishment Beyond Prisons 2023: Incarceration and supervision by state and Chronic Punishment: The unmet health needs of people in state prisons. She has also authored numerous briefings on topics including the imposition of disciplinary fines in prisons and the negative impacts of “association” restrictions for people on probation and parole. She also oversees our work on the intersections of incarceration and environmental justice.

About the Prison Policy Initiative

The non-profit, non-partisan Prison Policy Initiative was founded in 2001 to expose the broader harms of mass criminalization and spark advocacy campaigns to create a more just society. Through big-picture reports like Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie, as well as in-depth reports on issues such as probation and parole, the organization helps the public more fully engage in criminal justice reform. The organization also launched, and continues to lead, the national fight to keep the prison system from exerting undue influence on the political process (a.k.a. prison gerrymandering).

Acknowledgments

All Prison Policy Initiative reports are collaborative endeavors, and this report is no different. The author would like to thank current staff members for their insights and editorial guidance, as well as MacArthur Justice Center’s National Parole Transformation Project, our essential partners in developing the Principles for Parole Reform, which serves as a foundational resource for this report. Lastly, we would like to thank our donors and funders who make this work possible.



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