On the parole board: reflections on crime, punishment, redemption, and justice

Few people experience life inside of prison. Even fewer are charged with the formidable responsibility of deciding whether inmates should be released. In his 24 years on the Rhode Island Parole Board, Frederic G. Reamer has judged the fates of thousands of inmates, deciding which are ready to reenter society and which are not. It is a complicated choice that balances injury to victims and their families against an offenders capacity for transformation. With rich retellings of criminal casessome banal, some brutal, 'On the Parole Board' is a singular work that explains from an insiders perspective how a variety of factors play into the boards decisions.