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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 3:13 am
Time: 3:13 am
Results for pardons
3 results foundAuthor: Barbarino, Alessandro Title: The Incapacitation Effect of Incarceration: Evidence From Several Italian Collective Pardons Summary: We estimate the “incapacitation effect” on crime using variation in Italian prison population driven by eight collective pardons passed between 1962 and 1995. The prison releases are sudden — within one day —, very large — up to 35 percent of the entire prison population — and happen nationwide. Exploiting this quasi-natural experiment we break the simultaneity of crime and prisoners as in Levitt (1996) and, in addition, use the national character of the pardons to separately identify incapacitation from changes in deterrence. The elasticity of total crime with respect to incapacitation is -15 percent. A cost-benefit analysis suggests that Italy’s prison population is below its optimal level: the estimated marginal social cost of crime is more than two times the cost of incarceration. Details: Unpublished Paper, 2011. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 5, 2011 at: http://www.carloalberto.org/people/mastrobuoni/doc/ReducedPardonJan2011.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Italy URL: http://www.carloalberto.org/people/mastrobuoni/doc/ReducedPardonJan2011.pdf Shelf Number: 121647 Keywords: AmnestyCost-Benefit AnalysisDeterrenceImprisonmentPardons |
Author: Drinan, Cara H. Title: Clemency in a Time of Crisis Summary: At the state level, the power to pardon or commute a criminal sentence — that is, to grant clemency — is vested in either the Governor, an executive clemency board, or some combination thereof. Until very recently, clemency grants were a consistent feature of our criminal justice system. In the last four decades, though, state clemency grants have declined significantly; in some states, clemency seems to have disappeared altogether. In this Article, I contend that executive clemency should be revived at the state level in response to ongoing systemic criminal justice failings. Part I of this Article describes clemency at the state level today. Despite judicial and scholarly support for the role of clemency in our criminal justice system, state clemency practice fails to live up to its theoretical justifications. Part II of this Article makes the case for a policy of vigorous clemency on both theoretical and practical grounds. Not only was clemency designed, at least in part, to serve an error-correcting function, but also, today, there are several reasons why state executive actors may be able to use their clemency power robustly without suffering politically. In Part III, I address questions of implementation. If state executive actors are to pursue commutations of sentences or pardons, which inmates should be the subject of such pursuits? How can those executive actors best be insulated from political pressure? In sum, this Article argues that revitalizing state clemency is a valuable and viable component of broader criminal justice reform. Details: Atlanta, GA: 28 Georgia State Law Review 1123, Forthcoming. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 20, 2012 at http://ssrn.com/abstract=2079812 Year: 1123 Country: United States URL: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2079812 Shelf Number: 125386 Keywords: Administration of JusticeClemencyCriminal Justice ReformPardons |
Author: Utah. Legislative Auditor General Title: A Performance Audit of the Board of Pardons and Parole Summary: Utah's Board of Pardons and Parole (BOP or board) plays a critical and unique role in the state's criminal justice system. For example, last year, they made nearly 18,000 decisions, including releasing offenders from prison, setting the conditions of release and supervision, and responding to over 1,000 parole violations. Consequently, they wield significant influence on public safety and the use of public resources. Utah's parole board has considerable discretion because of wide sentencing time-frames coupled with an indeterminate system. The level of discretion appears to be greater than is found in other states. This report examines opportunities for the board to better deploy such broad discretion and recommends improvements to the BOP's oversight, structure, decision making, data collection, and business operations. These recommendations come at a time when criminal justice reform (both nationally and locally) is working toward improved outcomes and lowered costs. BOP Can Benefit from Improved Planning, Oversight, and Structure Improved Planning, Performance Measures, and Transparency of Information Is Needed. The BOP has always been a crucial player in Utah's criminal justice system. The board has been especially involved in justice reinvestment efforts since the Legislature passed H.B. 348 in the 2015 General Session. We are encouraged by the board's actions, but more can be done. We believe the BOP should: develop a strategic plan, track and monitor key data elements, measure its impact on the criminal justice system through targeted performance measures, and improve its transparency. BOP's Internal Organizational Structure Should Be Reviewed. As discussed in the previous section, several operational improvements are needed at the BOP. To help ensure these improvements are made and effective, the board should review its organizational structure. We do not question the dedication of BOP employees, but the board needs to ensure it has adequately defined its roles and the roles of its staff to maximize the needed operational improvements. BOP Should Adopt More Proven Practices Structured Decision Making Will Increase Consistency of Decisions. The BOP can do more to ensure its decisions are consistent, fair, and properly structured for the best outcomes. Nationally recognized research organizations that study paroling authorities recommend that parole boards adopt a structured decision-making (SDM) model. SDM is an evidence-based, policy-driven approach to decision making that uses established risk and needs factors to make quality release decisions. Paroling authorities that use SDM are better at setting goals and report better outcomes. Currently, BOP parole release decisions are based mainly on individual professional judgement and experience. BOP decision makers have differing philosophies and may weigh factors in the same case differently. The lack of a common paroling philosophy may be the cause for the large number of inmates and inmate advocacy groups expressing concerns about the inconsistency of paroling decisions. The board has taken steps to implement SDM but as a prerequisite, the BOP should establish a common paroling philosophy to facilitate consistency in parole decisions. BOP Should Improve Rationale for Its Decisions. A second area to aid the BOP in decision making is an improved rationale sheet. The only information an inmate receives about the content of the board's decision is a rationale sheet that lists some aggravating and mitigating factors. Several individuals at the BOP told us that this sheet does not capture the important factors the board uses in weighing their decisions. Further, inmates, families, and advocates list the rationale sheet as one of their primary concerns because they find it confusing, vague, and unclear. Best practices discuss communication with inmates as an important factor. We also found that other states' releasing authorities have more informative rationale sheets that focus on specific areas of improvement and/or risk to the community. The board agrees that it needs to improve its rationale sheet and is currently working on a new version of the form. Use of Research-Based Practices Can Help BOP Improve Its Outcomes. In addition to the two best practices just discussed, we recommend that the BOP adopt and integrate the nationally recognized ten practice targets that incorporate evidence-based practices in parole decisions. The board agrees and is already working toward implementation of some of these practice targets. BOP Should Adopt an Electronic File Management System The BOP's Current Paper Process Is Vulnerable to Errors. Our review of the BOP's business process revealed two areas that are vulnerable to errors. One vulnerability is the way the board documents and enters decisions. The BOP's current decision-making process relies on board members' handwritten notes, which are unclear and subject to misinterpretation. In most cases, we could not decipher the handwritten notes to validate that clerical staff entered decisions correctly. Second, calculations for time served made in case files are also vulnerable to inaccuracies. Paper-Based System Limits Data Tracking and Transparency. The BOP's paper-based system limits the ability to track key performance metrics and data critical to board operations. Paper files also limit transparency and availability of information to external entities. Adopting an electronic file management system will help the board begin collecting and analyzing data on how its actions affect the larger criminal justice system. This will also promote more informed decision making. Paper-Based System Creates Operational Inefficiencies. In addition to the data limitations, there are also operational inefficiencies that result from a paper-based file management system. These include limitations on information sharing with surrounding agencies as well as BOP workflow, since only one activity can be performed on an offender's file at a time. Board staff devote significant amounts of time to the paper process. Staff time spent printing, copying, filing, and locating paper files is costly and time intensive. Electronic BOP System Will Promote Alignment with Other Criminal Justice Agencies. With other Utah criminal justice agencies as well as other state parole boards adopting electronic file management systems, it is increasingly clear that it is time for the board to convert to a paperless record-keeping system. The current board supports transition from a paper-based to electronically based record-keeping system. To do this, the board will need to determine if it is in their best interest to develop an electronic system that piggybacks on the UDC's database or purchase a system from a private vendor. Funding the new system will likely require funding from several sources, including federal funds, nonlapsing funds, and other state resources. BOP Should Consider Implementing Process Efficiencies A Streamlined Decision Process Is Needed for Less Serious Offenders. As the state's population grows, BOP's workload will continue to increase. The PEW Charitable Trusts group studied Utah's criminal justice system in 2014. They estimate that Utah's prison population will grow 37 percent in the next 20 years. To deal with this growth, we believe the board should consider process efficiencies before adding more hearing officers. Other states have achieved efficiencies in streamlining the parole processing of low-risk, less severe offenders and maintained quality of decisions. In this section, we recommend a continuum of options the board could pursue to achieve efficiencies in processing low-level offenders, such as limiting case preparation requirements, reducing the number of board member votes for release decisions, and in limited circumstances allowing hearing officers a vote. BOP Should Review Expungement Process and Recommend Statutory Changes. The BOP has received an increase in the number of pardon requests over the last year and a half. This increase is due partially to more people seeking pardons because the Bureau of Criminal Identification (BCI) rejected their expungement requests for relatively minor offenses. Some applicants rejected by BCI are turning to the board, which has greater authority to pardon and, by extension, expunge criminal records. The board's pardon process involves significant staff time and resources. Therefore, we recommend that the BOP and BCI review the expungement process and recommend to the Legislature statutory changes that reduce pardon workloads. Details: Salt Lake City: Utah Legislative Auditor General, 2016. 100p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 28, 2016 at: http://le.utah.gov/audit/16_01rpt.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://le.utah.gov/audit/16_01rpt.pdf Shelf Number: 146164 Keywords: Decision-MakingPardonsParoleParole BoardsProbation |