Parole is the term for the conditional, supervised release of a prisoner prior to him serving the length of his maximum sentence. Prisoners who are paroled are released into the community under the supervision of a parole officer. They must comply with a set of rules in order to remain on parole and not be sent back to prison.
The Michigan Parole Board is the only body with authority to parole a felon in the custody of the Michigan Department of Corrections. The 10-member board gains jurisdiction over a case when the prisoner has served his entire minimum sentence.[111] The current Michigan Parole Board was created by an executive order by Gov. Rick Snyder in 2011. Its members are appointed by the director of MDOC. The MDOC director is the head of the department and reports directly to the governor.[112]
As a prisoner nears his earliest release date, or the end of his minimum sentence, his case will come to the attention of the parole board. MDOC prepares a Parole Eligibility Report approximately eight months prior to an inmate’s earliest release date and schedules the prisoner’s case for review by the board. Most prisoners interview with a member of the board about the prisoner’s criminal history, any substance abuse, conduct in prison, participation in classes or programs and any previous experience with probation or parole.[113]
The decision to grant release on parole depends on the outcome of a vote of a three-member panel of parole board members who take into consideration the Parole Eligibility Report, the interview, and the prisoner’s “mental and social attitude.”[a] They may also consider letters of support from the prisoner’s friends and relatives, as well as information provided to them by the victims of the prisoner’s crime.[114] The board members use parole guidelines that contain a numerical scoring system which applies objective criteria to help increase efficiency and reduce disparity in parole decisions.[115] State law requires board members not to grant parole unless and until they reach a “reasonable assurance” that the prisoner will not become a “menace to society or risk to the public safety.”[116] However, prisoners who score a “high probability of parole” using calculations set out in the guidelines are required to be paroled unless the board has a “substantial and compelling” reason to deny parole.[117]
If the parole board decides to grant parole, they set a release date and specify the amount of time that the prisoner will spend under the supervision of a parole officer in the community. MDOC continues to monitor the prisoner’s behavior between the date of the parole board’s decision and the prisoner’s release, and the parole board may suspend parole for an individual who engages in misconduct or if new adverse information about him comes to light. Parolees who engage in misconduct after their release are subject to having their parole revoked at the discretion of the board. Prosecutors may appeal parole decisions, and parolees may appeal parole revocations.[118]
[a] For prisoners serving a life sentence who are eligible for parole, a vote by the full 10-member board is required. MCL § 791.246; MCL § 791.206(2); MCL § 791.233.