15 - The Parole-and-Probation-to-Prison Pipeline

Summary

Recidivism laws, like the three strikes laws discussed in the previous chapter, are one way to eliminate second and third chances, dictating lengthy sentences for repeat offenses. Another way that the criminal law punishes people who have offended one too many times is through probation and parole revocations. While severely understudied, parole and probation revocations generate about a third of prison admissions and possibly more. And perhaps no change better illustrates the change from a criminal justice to a criminal legal system than the increasing volume of incarceration generated through the parole and probation revocation process.