History of the Federal Parole System: Part 1 (1910-1972)
![handle is hein.journals/fedpro61 and id is 237 raw text is: History of the Federal Parole System:
Part 1 (1910-1972)*
By PETER B. HOFFMAN, PH.D.
Staff Director (Retired), Uniied States Parole Commission
Introduction
AS GEORGE Santayana (1863-1952) observed,
[t]hose who do not remember the past are con-
demned to repeat it. Stated differently, a solid
grounding in history can be extremely useful to the leg-
islator, administrator, or practitioner who wishes to im-
prove a product or process by changing it, particularly
if substantial change is involved. The field of correc-
tions does not appear to be exempt from this principle.
There have been substantial changes in the federal sen-
tencing structure in recent years, including the aboli-
tion of parole release and the phasing down of the U.S.
Parole Commission, the creation of the U.S. Sentencing
Commission and the implementation of sentencing
guidelines, a substantial reduction in authorized good-
time credits, and the reappearance of long, mandatory
minimum sentences. Given the recent passage of the
Parole Commission Phaseout Act of 1996, it appears a
particularly appropriate time to review the history of
the federal parole system, as well as related sentencing
and good-time provisions.
Historical Overview
Parole of federal prisoners began after enactment of
legislation on June 25, 1910. There were three federal
penitentiaries, and parole was granted by a board at
each institution. The membership of each parole board
consisted of the warden of the institution, the physician
of the institution, and the Superintendent of Prisons of
the Department of Justice in Washington, DC.
By legislation of May 13, 1930, a single Board of Pa-
role in Washington, DC, was established. This board
consisted of three members, serving full-time, ap-
pointed by the Attorney General. The Bureau of Prisons
performed the administrative functions of the board. In
*This, the first part of a two-part article, provides a
chronology from the origin of the federal parole system
through 1972. Part 2, to be published in the December 1997
issue of Federal Probation, will continue the chronology from
1973 to the present. The views expressed in this article are
the personal views of the author and do not necessarily re-
flect the official position of the U.S. Parole Commission or
the Department of Justice. This article was abstracted from
a report, entitled History of the Federal Parole System, pre-
pared for the U.S. Parole Commission.
August 1945, the Attorney General ordered that the
board report directly to him for administrative pur-
poses. In August 1948, due to a postwar increase in
prison population, the Attorney General appointed two
additional members, increasing the Board of Parole to
five members.
By legislation of September 30, 1950, the board was
increased to eight members appointed by the President,
with the advice and consent of the Senate, for 6-year,
staggered terms. The board was placed in the Depart-
ment of Justice for administrative purposes. Three of
the eight members were designated by the Attorney
General to serve as a Youth Corrections Division pur-
suant to the Youth Corrections Act.
In October 1972, the Board of Parole began a pilot re-
organization project that eventually included the es-
tablishment of five regions, creation of explicit guide-
lines for parole release decisionmaking, provision of
written reasons for parole decisions, and an adminis-
trative appeal process. By October 1974, five regions
were operational with one member and a corps of hear-
ing examiners assigned to each region. The chairman
and two members remained in Washington, DC, at the
headquarters office.
In May 1976, the Parole Commission and Reorgani-
zation Act became effective. This act retitled the Board
of Parole as the United States Parole Commission and
established it as an independent agency within the De-
partment of Justice. The act provided for nine commis-
sioners appointed by the President, with the advice and
consent of the Senate, for 6-year terms. These included
a chairman, five regional commissioners, and a three-
member National Appeals Board. In addition, the act
incorporated the major features of the Board of Parole's
pilot project: a mandate for explicit guidelines for pa-
role decisionmaking, written reasons for parole denial,
a regionalized structure, and an administrative appeal
process. The Youth Corrections Division of the Board of
Parole was eliminated and its duties absorbed by the
Commission.
The Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 cre-
ated a United States Sentencing Commission to estab-
lish sentencing guidelines for the federal courts. The
decision to establish sentencing guidelines was based
in substantial part on the success of the U.S. Parole
Commission in developing and implementing its parole
Vol. 61, No. 3](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/fedpro61&div=47&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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History of the Federal Parole System: Part 1 (1910-1972)
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