Parole is similar to probation in many ways, but there are important distinctions that are important for persons facing time in the Indiana Department of Correction to understand. In many cases parole will follow completion of one’s executed sentence. An executed sentence may be any number of years served in prison, but the number of years one actually serves may be reduced due to various types of credit time and time cuts that are available. It is at the completion of this reduced amount of time, one’s “out date,” where many offenders find themselves released to parole. The Indianapolis Criminal Defense Attorneys at Banks & Brower take a look at parole in this blog.
Indiana Code
Indiana Code requires that persons serving sentences at DOC complete a term of parole upon release unless certain circumstances exist with respect to the offender. For example, a person will be released to probation instead of parole if probation was a part of the person’s sentence. Likewise, someone who has been placed in a community transition program by the court may be discharged without needing to complete a period of parole.
How Long Does Parole Last?
Generally, the period of parole is two years. However, exceptions to this rule exist as well. First, if a person has not previously been placed on parole and is not a sex offender, has not committed a crime of violence, and did not violate any prison rules during the last six months of his or her sentence, the two year term of parole may be reduced to a one year term. Conversely, sex offenders will be placed on parole for a ten year period, and sexually violent predators or persons convicted of murder or voluntary manslaughter will be placed on parole for life.
A person released on parole will be supervised by a parole officer in the parole district in which he or she resides. A parolee will be required to regularly report to a parole officer and to abide by rules and restrictions imposed as conditions of parole. A person’s failure to comply with a requirement of parole may result in a violation.
What Happens If You Violate Parole?
Where a violation is believed to have occurred, a report is submitted to the parole board. After the board considers the report, the board may dismiss proceedings involving the violation, direct the employee who reported the violation to handle it informally, ask the parolee to meet with the board to review parole obligations, or intensify parole supervision and reporting.
Where probable cause exists that to believe that a parolee violated a condition of parole, the parolee may be ordered to appear for a revocation hearing regarding the alleged violation. Alternatively, a warrant may be issued for the arrest and confinement of the parolee pending a preliminary hearing. If probable cause to support a violation is found at the preliminary hearing, the parolee may be detained pending a revocation hearing.
Parole Revocation Hearing
Indiana Code 11-13-6-9 states that a parole revocation hearing involves at least one member of the parole board determining whether or not a violation of parole has occurred. At that hearing an offender may request the presence of an attorney, may have witnesses present, victims may be invited, and the offender is given the opportunity to give a statement by any means necessary. If a violation is found to have occurred, the member(s) then decide the appropriate action to be taken in response to the violation. Penalties for violating parole can include continuing parole with or without modifying conditions or revoking parole and ordering the parolee imprisoned on a continuous or intermittent basis. However, where the violation is the commission of a new felony, the parole board must revoke parole and order continuous imprisonment as punishment for the violation. Once the board makes a final decision as to what the punishment will be, they must submit it in writing to the offender.
Contact Banks & Brower
If you or a loved one is facing criminal charges that may result in an executed sentence at the Indiana Department of Correction, parole may come into play at the conclusion of the executed portion of the sentence. Contact the experienced attorneys at Banks & Brower, LLC to discuss your case and the possible penalties, including prison and parole. We are available 24/7/365 at 317-870-0019 or info@banksbrower.com.