Offenders in The Community

Offenders in the Community

By Joseph Parish

The basic concept of parole and probation can be made into useful tools for community good as well as victim assurance if properly used. The ideas associated with parole have been a part of the American Justice system for well over a hundred years now. The premises of these release programs call for individual reform and personal change and present themselves in both the discretionary and mandatory parole models. Parole can provide cost savings to communities by the lower costs of release as opposed to continued imprisonment. Our textbooks usually reveal that like the state of Georgia it costs $40,000 annually to maintain one person in prison but a mere $1300 to place them on parole. It is unknown how these figures are calculated but if correct they constitute a considerable savings.  

Rhetorically, it is suppose to provide increased employment however that assumption is actually based upon the crime which was committed. Many communities currently refuse to hire those people who commit gross atrocities against society. It is believed that when a paroled individual is gainfully employed they are afforded a opportunity to make proper restitution to the victims of their crimes.

One of the major deterrents for repeat offender prevention must be an effective process of rehabilitation while the criminal is in Prison. This commitment should continue if necessary after they are parole. As an example the state of Utah’s reconviction rate for sex offenders is 1.2 percent of which the majority of the convictions are child related. There is no sort of therapy offered to these pedophiles and predators while incarcerated.

This month will be the anniversary of the death of Lawrence Singleton, the discussions sample case. Our sample paragraph failed to supply all the gruesome details relating to Singleton’s callous crimes. A 15 year old named Mary Vincent was Singletons first victim. She was picked up hitchhiking in California by Singleton who raped her and afterwards chopped off her arms with his axe. The young girl survived and was the main witness in Singletons case when it got to court. For this horrid crime the man received only eight years prison sentence at which time he was paroled.

The first problem associated with this unjust parole was that there was no town which would allow him to live there. The people had spoken out on the parole of this monster and refused to tolerate him within their communities. As a result Singleton was forced to reside in a small trailer on San Quentin grounds.