"Virginia should roll back the punitive influence of prosecutors and victims on parole decisions"

The title of this post is the headline of this new Washington Post op-ed by Nora Demleitner.  Here are excerpts:

The Virginia Parole Board scandal gets worse by the day.  The board stands accused of disregarding state law and its own procedures to facilitate the parole release of a few incarcerated men.

A watchdog report alleges that the board failed to consider the required input from victim families and did not inform them and prosecutors of pending releases.  As some Virginia legislators demand further investigation, we should also question the role victims and their families and prosecutors should play in parole hearings in light of their outsize influence on the outcome.  Release decisions should focus on reintegration and second chances. Only rarely do victims and prosecutors have relevant knowledge on these issues. For that reason, states need to roll back their involvement in release decisions....

Currently, victims and prosecutors effectively determine the outcome of parole decisions.  All states, including Virginia, provide victims with opportunities to weigh in on impending parole releases.  When they do, their impact is substantial. That may not be surprising as victims’ rights groups and prosecutors have labeled releases over victim objections another victimization.  That means in many states, victims exercise a virtual veto over releases.

But inmates eligible for parole do not have to contend only with victims. In many states, prosecutors are explicitly invited to participate in hearings, either by providing their views in writing or in person.  At least one study demonstrates the powerful impact of their testimonials. Prosecutorial recommendations against parole tend to lead to denials. Surprisingly, the opposite does not hold.  Apparently, some boards only credit punitive prosecutors....

Victim participation in parole hearings, strongly supported by prosecutor associations, was an outgrowth of the victims’ rights movement. It promised to counteract the perceived leniency of the criminal justice system and give victims a voice.  But participation fails to provide victims with real support and instead privileges punitiveness, never-ending symbolic revenge. Many victims do not participate in parole hearings.  Their addresses may no longer be on file, or they decided to put the past behind them.  Often only those victims who insist on continued incarceration have garnered publicity and prosecutorial support.  That makes release random and largely dependent on the victim.  This practice reinforces a system marred by vast racial, class and power inequities.

Release review, in the form of parole and other mechanisms, should not re-litigate the conviction offense but rather assess whether the incarcerated person will be able to reintegrate successfully and desist from crime in the future.  It is about second chances. Prosecutors and victims, who have an opportunity to make their case at earlier stages — charging, plea bargaining or a trial and sentencing — will know little about the imprisoned person’s suitability for release, which may first come up decades after the crime.

Deaths and serious crime leave a lasting impact that cannot be undone.  Yet, when an offender becomes parole-eligible, retributive concerns should no longer play a role.  Only in cases in which they could speak to reintegration and recidivism, such as when the incarcerated person recently threatened them, for example, is victim or prosecutor testimony relevant. Otherwise, their input does not advance the assessment of an incarcerated person’s future prospects.  There are more meaningful opportunities for their participation and for society and the criminal justice system to show their support for victims.  Release decisions are the wrong moment.

In its next session, Virginia’s legislators should take another look at parole and recalibrate the focus of release hearings.  Reintegration and second chances mean rolling back the involvement of victims and prosecutors.  It is time to end this ill-guided practice of the carceral state that elevates punitive impulses above rehabilitation and second chances.