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Parole and Furlough
Parole and Furlough
Parole and Furlough
The notion of parole includes Convicts and under trial prisoners whereas the notion of
Furlough only includes the convicts who are already convicted for the crime they have
committed and whose crime has been proven in the court of law and living their life in
imprisonment for the same.
‘Parole’ means the release of the convict/prisoner for a temporary period, or for a special
purpose, or completes before the expiry of a sentence of the prisoner, on the promise of
his/her good behaviour. The Word ‘Parole’ is derived from the French word “je donne ma
parole”, which means “I give my word”. Parole is a privilege, a chance to set free from the
punitive imprisonment for a limited period to socialize with their family, friends, and their
loved ones. It is not an absolute release rather; it is a conditional one where the prisoners will
be required to report to the police authorities within a set period of time. Under Black’s Law
Dictionary, the term ‘parole’ has been defined as the “conditional release of a prisoner from
imprisonment before the full sentence has been served. Parole is granted to a person who has
already served a portion of his/her punishment. In the case of short-term confinement or
imprisonment, parole may be granted. If the conditions of parole are not abided by the
parolee, he may be returned to serve his sentence in prison. Parole is a reformative process. In
India, the parole is granted by the Divisional Commissioner of the state.
‘Furlough’ on the other hand is granting leave of absence to the convict from the prison on
his good remission. The concept of furlough is broadly similar to parole. Furlough is given to
the convicts who have longer imprisonment. Furlough is allowed on a regular basis for no
specific reason but just to allow the prisoner to maintain his social relationships. The right to
be released on furlough is a matter of substantial and legal right of the prisoner/convict, and it
cannot be rejected if permitted by law but there are always exceptions also where it shall be
denied for the greater good.
Furlough is a matter of the right of a prisoner to be granted leave from the prison irrespective
of any reason but merely to reconcile with his/her family. Parole on contrary is not
considered a matter of right and cannot be granted without any specific reason such as a death
in family, marriage, etc. In the case of long-term confinement, Furlough may be granted to
the prisoners. The grant of Furlough is not absolute; there are exceptions also where it may
not be given to the prisoners. During the period of furlough granted, the sentence of the
convict goes along with the furlough period and is included and counted in the sentence
period only. In India, the furlough is granted by the Deputy Inspector General of Prisons.
The notion of Parole in the year 1840 was introduced by Alexander Maconochie, a Scottish
geographer, and captain in the royal navy. In the 19th century, Parole became the part of the
reformatory trend in the subject of criminology. Maconochie was later appointed as
Superintendent of British penal colonies. Instead of letting the prisoners suffer hopelessly
until their whole sentence is completed, Maconochie aimed to punish the offenders by
training them for the future. Maconochie developed a system of grades where he developed 3
grades. In the first and second, it was mainly for the promotion or ranking of the offenders
based on their good behavior, work, etc. The third grade was for the conditional release of the
prisoner outside the prison where he can feel the taste of freedom. In violation of conditions,
the prisoner will be brought back to the prison and must start all over again the process of
three grade system. The ticket to leave-system was reformed and this led to what many
people consider the world’s first Parole system. As a practice in the 1900s, parole has
experimented with almost simultaneously in 3 Countries that are Spain, Germany, and
England, and later was adopted by many.
Objectives of Parole:
Types of Parole
There are 2 types of parole that can be classified into Regular parole & Emergency Parole
Regular Parole
Regular Parole is a type where parole is not needed on an urgent basis. The govt. has options
for considering applications for regular parole and granting or rejecting them. There are a few
grounds on which the application for regular parole can be considered:
• Serious illness of a close family member.
• The marriage of a family member.
• Delivery of a child by the prisoner’s wife.
• Serious damage to life or property of a family member due to natural calamity
• Maintaining social and familial relationships
Emergency Parole
Emergency parole is provided to the prisoners in an emergency or circumstances such as an
accident of a family member or the death of a family member. Emergency parole is also
known as custody parole.
Conclusion
The parole and furlough, thus, provide for a humanistic approach toward convicts lodged in
jails. The main purpose of such provisions is to afford convicts an opportunity to resolve their
personal and family problems and to enable them to maintain their links with society. It can
be said to be more of a balance between the punitive punishment and the human right of the
convict. Both the concepts of parole and furlough can be regarded as an approach to the
reformation of the legal system, but it still needs a lot of development as there are many cases
that we hear of on a daily basis of its misuse. The laws shall be made stricter for furlough and
parole jumpers. Prison authorities should thoroughly check the ground for Parole-seeker and
in the cases of furlough, those prisoners who are no longer harm to the society shall be
granted furlough.