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Meeting the Parole Board

  • Author: B-7685
  • Editor: B-7413
  • Newspaper: The Umpire volume 6
  • Page Number:
  • Date: 3 14 1917
  • Tags:
  • advice
  • parole
  • prison

Meeting the Parole Board I have heard many men here say, I am going up for parole soon; what shall I say or do? As far as I can learn it is not altogether without fear that the indeterminate sentence prisoner looks forward to the hour when he will come face to face with the Parole Board and appeal with them for the freedom which will mean a new chance in life. Having noted the disposition of many applicants, some comments for the guidance of the parole- in seekers may not prove without value to our readers. You will find when you meet the Board, that their first interest is in you personally. Before you have entered the room your case has been reviewed and your life has been a followed in some measure up to the hour of your arrest. Your prison record has been to reported by the Warden, Chaplain and Doctor. You are known to them as a definite case which has a certain degree of desire to a reform, and has certain friends outside the walls ready to hold out the hand of welcome and lend the arms of assistance. So far, so good. The rest lies largely with you. Your a name is called, and as you enter, each ex- perienced mind has its eyes on you and is trying to find your true valuation as you are, and not what you were. Do you enter with a quick, firm step, or a shuffling gait; smile or a sullen look; walk with h e ad up or head bowed; with eyes bright and alert, or dull and listless; with hopes high and faith firm, or with distrust? Are the plans you have made for the future clear in your own mind? Have the sponsors you represented as willing to be responsible for you been the kind of people in the kind of business to inspire confidence on the part of the Board? You are given a seat and questioned, not gruffly but kindly; not faithlessly, but with an evidence of belief that you intend to re- form. How do you answer? Do you make a clean breast of things or try to hide and to hedge? Do you admit past mistakes or spend these precious moments in trying to be impressive with excuses? Do you show your eagerness for the new chance? Avow earnestly (but always sincerely) your determina- tion for future success. Nine times out of ten the Board wants to favor you. The balances are in your favor. The opportunity is great, yet over and over again men toss away their own chances by indifference, bragging, or the shifting of re- sponsibility. Before you go to the Board with your case, be frank with yourself and prepare to be frank with them. Very few men succeed in "getting away with any- thing" which is not the "straight goods." A few simple suggestions may start some men thinking and help them the better to meet the Board more than half way. 1. Be as neat, as frank, and genuine as possible. 2. Remember the Parole Board wants to release you. 3. Do not blame a woman for your downfall. It is a poor excuse. 4. Speak clearly and cheerfully and slip in an occasional "Sir." 5. Answer the questions asked as plainly as possible, in a few words. 6. Do not beat about the bush. 7. Remember that "the other fellow" is a mighty poor excuse, when he made his getaway. 8. If you are a first-timer do not pretend to know it all. If you are an old-timer, have done with the old life because it is right to have done with it, and not just because you are tired of serving time. 9. The best preparation for parole is right living in prison. A perfect prison record is a promising suggestion for favorable consider- ation. 10. Finally-be sincere. -B 7685.