Punishment, Incarceration & Corrections
Punishment, Incarceration & Corrections
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Punishment & Corrections Upon conviction, an offender will be sentenced. If incarceration is the punishment given, the person convicted will serve time in a local jail, county jail, state prison or federal prison. What is the difference between jail or prison? Offenders sentenced to less than 1 year generally go to jail; those sentenced to more than 1 year are sent to prison. Offenders sent to the Federal system or a State prison system may be held in prisons with varying security levels of custody or in a community correctional facility. A prisoner may become eligible for parole after serving a specific part of his or her sentence. Parole is the conditional release of a prisoner before the prisoner's full sentence has been served. The decision to grant parole is made by an authority such as a parole board, which has power to grant or revoke parole or to discharge a parolee altogether. The way parole decisions are made varies widely among jurisdictions. Offenders may also be required to serve out their full sentences prior to release (expiration of term). Those sentenced under determinate sentencing laws can be released only after they have served their full sentence (mandatory release) less any "goodtime" received while in prison. Inmates get "good time" credits against their sentences automatically or by earning them through participation in various programs, such as drug treatment, education, and other programs. If a prisoner is released by a parole board decision or by mandatory release, the releasee will be under the supervision of a parole officer in the community for the balance of his or her unexpired sentence. The parole officer will give the releasee specific conditions of release, and the releasee can be sent back to prison for any violation of the conditions.
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