America’s criminal justice system has long been plagued by systemic injustice, mass incarceration, and a revolving door of incarceration that disproportionately affects marginalized communities. While conversations around bail reform and prison abolition have taken center stage in recent years, parole reform remains one of the most urgently needed yet chronically overlooked components of true criminal justice transformation.
Now, thanks to the groundbreaking efforts of the Prison Policy Initiative and the MacArthur Justice Center’s National Parole Transformation Project, we have a blueprint that can guide the way forward. Their newly released 16 Guiding Principles for Parole Reform offer a vision of a more humane, just, and effective parole system—and one that is long overdue.
These principles are not just a call to action—they are a demand for accountability. A roadmap toward a system that no longer serves as an extended arm of mass incarceration, but as a genuine pathway to reintegration, redemption, and freedom.
Why Parole Reform Matters Right Now
Parole was originally intended as a rehabilitative mechanism—a structured reentry process designed to support individuals as they transition back into their communities. But in today’s reality, parole often serves as just another trapdoor into continued surveillance, punishment, and control. Far from promoting public safety or human dignity, the parole system frequently extends incarceration indefinitely through arbitrary denials, burdensome requirements, and technical violations that have nothing to do with actual criminal behavior.
According to the Prison Policy Initiative, nearly a quarter of people entering state prisons are reincarcerated not because they committed new crimes, but because they violated technical conditions of their parole—things like missing a meeting, failing a drug test, or not updating their address.
These reincarcerations are costly, counterproductive, and cruel. They disrupt families, derail lives, and deepen the very social inequities our justice system claims to correct.
It’s time to change that. And that starts with principles rooted in justice, compassion, and common sense.
What Are the 16 Guiding Principles?
The National Parole Transformation Project, a collaboration between the MacArthur Justice Center and the Prison Policy Initiative, has distilled years of legal research, data analysis, and advocacy into a cohesive set of 16 principles designed to radically reshape parole in America.
These guiding principles address critical structural failures, calling for:
- Presumptive release once eligibility is met
- Transparent decision-making with evidence-based criteria
- Limiting parole revocations to actual public safety threats—not technical slip-ups
- Independent parole boards free from political influence
- Inclusion of formerly incarcerated people in parole board decisions
- Supportive supervision models focused on reintegration, not punishment
- Access to legal representation throughout the parole process
- Comprehensive reentry support services including housing, employment, and healthcare
These reforms aren’t just theoretical—they are actionable and evidence-backed. They reflect best practices from states that have seen success in reducing prison populations while improving public safety outcomes.
The National Parole Transformation Project is urging organizations and advocates across the country to sign on in support of these 16 principles, creating a united front for change.
The Bigger Picture: Ending the Profit Motive in Parole and Prisons
While these principles target parole policy specifically, they also expose a much larger and more disturbing truth: the monetization of incarceration in America. Private prison companies and other for-profit correctional institutions have built billion-dollar businesses off the backs of the incarcerated—and parole is no exception.
From electronic monitoring companies to halfway houses and private parole contractors, a complex web of corporate interests feeds off extended supervision and reentry failure. Every parole revocation, every technical violation, every delay in release represents profit for someone and pain for many.
At Sustainable Action Now, we have consistently called attention to the deep-rooted injustices perpetuated by the private prison industry. Mass incarceration is not just a policy failure—it’s a business model. And unless we remove the profit motive from parole, these cycles will continue.
👉 Explore how private prisons undermine justice and profit from pain
A Call to Action: Join the Movement for Parole Justice
The release of these 16 guiding principles marks a pivotal moment in the parole reform movement. But it will take collective effort, legislative courage, and public pressure to make them reality.
If you or your organization are working on parole reform at the state or local level, you are encouraged to sign on to these principles and help amplify this vision for change. From community organizers to civil rights attorneys, formerly incarcerated advocates to progressive lawmakers—now is the time to unite behind a shared strategy.
You can read and endorse the full list of principles on the Prison Policy Blog, which continues to be a leading resource for data-driven policy and reform insights.
Every signature matters. Every voice adds power to the movement.
Sustainable Parole Is Sustainable Justice
At its core, the fight for parole reform is about more than just changing procedures—it’s about restoring humanity to a system designed to dehumanize. It’s about acknowledging that people deserve second chances, that incarceration should not be a life sentence by default, and that our justice system must serve people, not profits.
We cannot talk about sustainable communities, restorative justice, or ethical policy without addressing the mechanisms that keep people tethered to punishment long after their sentence is complete. The current parole system is not just broken—it’s doing exactly what it was designed to do: control, surveil, and recycle vulnerable individuals back into incarceration.
But we can change that. With courage. With unity. With principle.
👉 Learn how Sustainable Action Now is supporting parole and prison justice reform
Final Thoughts: Justice Isn’t Justice Until It’s for Everyone
The 16 Guiding Principles for Parole Reform are more than words on paper—they are a moral imperative. A vision of a world where freedom is not conditional, where support replaces surveillance, and where returning home isn’t treated like a privilege to be earned, but a right to be respected.
At Sustainable Action Now, we stand with the Prison Policy Initiative, the MacArthur Justice Center, and all organizations demanding a parole system rooted in dignity, equity, and accountability.
The road to true justice is long—but it just got a little clearer.
