How to Find Out a Parolee's Release Date
Parole makes it possible for a convicted criminal to be released from prison early. Naturally, there is great public interest in knowing when a prisoner will be released. Victims may want to know when their attacker is being released, and families of the offenders want to know when the person is coming home. Official prison agencies, parole boards, online services and victim's advocates can be helpful in determining an offender's parole date.
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Instructions
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Find out which correctional agency is holding the inmate. State-level offenders serve their sentences in prisons run by the state department of corrections. Federal prisoners serve in institutions governed by the Federal Bureau Of Prisons.
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Find the agency's website. Most agencies have free and easily searchable inmate databases, or they supply inmate information to a third-party service. The Federal Bureau of Prisons has a complete online inmate search with release dates. State inmate searches generally do as well, but the amount of online information about offenders varies by state.
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Check with the state or federal parole board. Parole dates are a matter of public record.
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Keep in touch with the victim's advocate. Victim's advocates are employees of the prosecuting attorney's office, and they help guide victims and their families through the legal proceedings. In certain cases, namely cases involving violence, victims can request to be notified of any opportunity the offender has to make parole. This request often must be made in writing. Victims may also testify at parole hearings.
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Stay informed. High-profile cases often attract significant media attention. When this is the case, news outlets and victim advocacy websites publish stories about offenders about to be released on parole. Online alerts can be helpful; you can set your favorite search engine to send you an e-mail any time a news story about the offender appears online.
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Tips & Warnings
Federal inmates may be released early, but technically there is no such thing as federal parole. Congress discontinued it in 1986. As of November 2009, federal inmates were required to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences.
