When is a debt to society finally paid?

Parole has become a mirage in the United States

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I’m willing to bet that when most people hear “parole,” they think “early release from prison that most people convicted of lengthy crimes get in return for good behavior while incarcerated.”

But they would be wrong. The story of James Dunn, another D.C. friend who got caught in the “system,” is typical. He served 29 years behind bars and seized every opportunity to develop himself. Yet he was denied parole three times, with an average forced wait of four years between each, before he finally got out another way. Thanks to the D.C. Council’s Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act (designed to provide relief to individuals imprisoned when a teen and who have served more than 20 years), Dunn was finally set free. The comment from the presiding judge: “You should have been released long before. You’re a prime example of what rehabilitation looks like.”

The 16 states with an F- largely eliminated the ability to earn release through discretionary parole.

Marc Howard documents in his book “Unusually Cruel” that this is the pattern nationwide among…