NCJ Number
81367
Date Published
1981
Length
43 pages
Annotation
Testimony before the Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee on the New Jersey State Parole Board examines current New Jersey law bearing upon parole decisionmaking and parole board criteria for determining parole.
Abstract
This hearing was occasioned largely by recent well-publicized cases where parolees committed violent crimes. Testimony from the chairman of the New Jersey Parole Board reviews the major components of the State's Parole Act. The penal code provides that the court, within legislative guidelines, should establish the appropriate time to be served by an inmate based upon the offense and prior record. The parole board is mandated to review an inmate's case after this time is served and grant parole to those inmates determined not to represent a danger to society. One of the most significant changes effected by the new Parole Act is that the burden has been placed on the parole board to establish a basis for denying parole. The chairman of the parole board supports this legislation in his testimony; however, a number of the subcommittee members questioned the wisdom of placing the burden of denying parole on the board rather than requiring the inmate to overcome the presumption that the full court sentence should be served. Testimony indicates that the criteria for parole board decisions cover criminal history, the offense for which incarcerated, behavior in prison, and plans for community adjustment should parole be granted.