NCJ Number
138696
Date Published
1990
Length
545 pages
Annotation
This analysis of parole in Canada focuses on its history, the laws and procedures that define its current operation, and ways to improve it so that the release system would be part of a criminal justice framework that reflects clearly articulated and mutually consistent objectives.
Abstract
The discussion begins with an overview of sentencing and imprisonment and the development of mechanisms of conditional release in Canada. Additional chapters detailing the legal and procedural elements of the current release system are intended as a guide for lawyers and other criminal justice personnel in preparing for and attending hearings and handling other tasks. The discussion notes that procedural and statutory changes made since Canada's modern parole law of 1959 have responded to specific incidents but have not aimed at overall coherence. The analysis concludes with a proposal for an ideal release model, with emphasis on its role as an instrument of law and the need for an effective release mechanism as an essential safeguard against the destructive capability of long sentences served in prison. Footnotes; table of statutes; table of cases; and appended forms, text of law, and table of eligibility review dates