Parole from prisons and its problems of application

Šiame straipsnyje analizuojami Lietuvos Respublikos probacijos įstatyme, Lietuvos Respublikos bausmių vykdymo kodekse, Europos Tarybos rekomendacijose ir baudžiamosios teisės mokslininkų darbuose įtvirtinti lygtinio paleidimo iš įkalinimo įstaigų tikslai, šio instituto samprata, taikymo tvarka bei sąlygos, apžvelgiama užsienio šalių ir Lietuvos teismų praktika. Straipsnio pagrindinis tikslas – išanalizuoti lygtinio paleidimo iš įkalinimo įstaigų instituto taikymo probleminius aspektus ir remiantis užsienio valstybių praktika šio instituto taikymo srityje pateikti galimų problemų sprendimo būdų.This article covers parole and its problems in Lithuania. Parole is a part of a punishment which is done while convict is supervised in an insulated environment. If prisoner wants to be released on parole he has to fit some requirements. These requirements are called formal and material criteria. Formal criteria consist of application for parole commission and time that has been spent in prison as punishment. Material criteria are aimed to predict convict’s behavior while he is insulated. This means that parole commission analyzes if convict implements in his individual rehabilitation plan provided measures. Commission as well considers if convict’s criminal behavior risk is low enough and his progress reducing this risk. If criminal, who applied for parole, fits these two criteria he should be released from prison. However, there are few problems associated with parole. First of them is that courts tend to ignore that convict suits all the criteria listed above. Judges often take into account other factors such as criminal’s personality or his possibility to find a job. Second issue is groups of people whom cannot be released on parole no matter if they suit criteria mentioned before. This means that even if a convict decided to change his behavior and become a person who obeys the law, he will not be released on parole. Third problem is double application control. In other words the application of a convict is examined by parole commission and, after commission decides if criminal should be released on parole, court gives its final decision which determines if a convict is released. This double control makes even harder for convicts to use an institute of Parole. Fourth problem is that society is still afraid of criminals released on parole. The biggest role in raising this fear makes media. Media enlightens the worst scenarios that happen after criminal is released on parole but forgets to show how much convicts live in an insulated environment and obeys the law. All these problems combine with each other and lead to decreasing use of parole. In this article we analyze issues mentioned above and suggest possible ways to solve them