Protecting Parole Board Legitimacy in the Twenty-first Century: The Role of Victims' Rights and Influences

A retrospective analysis of the 20th-century victims' rights movement concludes that through state and federal legislative enactments made during an especially punitive social climate, victims shifted the priorities of parole boards from meeting the historically individualized needs of inmates to responding to the demands from victims that offenders should serve more time in prison. Reprioritizing victims' interests to the same or greater extent could greatly limit or even abolish parole as an early release option in the 21st century. Recommendations are made for paroling authorities to actively preserve their valuable functions in the American criminal justice system while maintaining procedural justice for victims and key constituents.