Administrative Errors Threaten to Delay Parole

A couple of months ago, a guy I met in prison prepared to leave prison, after spending the last 30 years of his life here. He is now in his 50s, has no contact with his extended family, is blind in one eye, and is deaf. Despite his challenges, he's not fully disabled. He can work, though after 30 years in prison he still had not earned his GED. 

This man had no family or friends to whom he could parole, so he was sent to public placement. Public placement can be as simple as a hotel room paid for by the state, or it can be a program, like the one this man was sent to that has staff to help with transitioning back to society. He definitely needed the help. 

Because I know sign language and he requested my help, I was able to interpret for this man in his critical pre-parole meetings. We met with his parole agent and other corrections staff whose job it was to meet with him before he paroled. It was rewarding to help him, but frustrating too. With all the help he needed, and with the department as disorganized and uncommunicative as it is, the man didn't even get to speak to his parole agent until the day before leaving prison. That meeting was supposed to happen weeks before. 

As it turned out, the parole agent believed that an error had been made in this man's parole designation (simply a code on his parole paperwork). So, just a dozen hours before he was scheduled to leave prison, the resource agent told him he was not going to be able to leave as scheduled. His parole would be delayed. Again. It'd been delayed by over a year already because of some court proceedings. 

It was very difficult for me to interpret the bad news. "He said, 'You will probably not be able to leave tomorrow because of an error in the paperwork." I was crushed for him as I read the total dejection on his face. 

Fortunately, just 10 minutes later, the confusion was cleared up and the parole agent reversed his statement. "Oh, now he says you WILL be able to leave tomorrow morning. He said he's sorry for the confusion." Talk about rollercoaster of emotions! 

I have to imagine that it's a logistics nightmare trying to organize all the prisoners who leave on parole, making sure they have all the resources they need when they leave. This man I interpreted for did leave prison the next morning, but I have no idea how he's doing. I don't know if he ended up in a place that connected him with what he needed to thrive on parole. I hope so. 

The closer I get to my own parole date, the more I think about the challenges returning citizens face. It's tough to start over, especially when you've been gone for a while. So much has changed, and most of what we had in the past is long gone. 

Starting over doesn't scare me that much (okay, maybe a little) because I'm resourceful. I'm also still healthy, able, and more than willing to work. Many other prisoners aren't so fortunate. 

Whatever the challenges, I know that leaving prison will be a beautiful thing. I just hope that when my time comes, things go a bit smoother than they did for the deaf prisoner I interpreted for.