Parole

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In criminal justice systems, parole is the supervised release of a prisoner before the completion of their sentence. This differs from amnesty or commutation of sentence in that the parolee is still considered to be serving their sentence, and may be returned to prison for misbehavior.

The exact nature of parole varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In the United States, courts may specify in a sentence how much time must be served before a prisoner is eligible for parole. Some states permit sentences of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole; other states do not, and any prisoner not facing the death penalty will eventually have the right to petition for release. In the United States federal justice system, there is currently no possibility of parole for any sentence.

In China, prisoners are often granted medical parole, which releases them on the grounds that they must receive medical treatment which cannot be provided for in prison. Often, the medical condition is not serious, and medical parole is used as an excuse to release a prisoner, particularly a political dissident, without the government having to admit that the sentence was unjust.

In U.S. immigration law, the term parole has special meaning. A person who does not meet the technical requirements for a visa may be allowed to enter the U.S. for humanitarian purposes. Persons who are allowed to enter the U.S. in this manner are known as parolees. Another use relating to immigration is advanced parole, in which a person who is already in the U.S. legally needs to leave temporarily and return without a visa. This typically occurs when a person's application for a green card (permanent residency) is in process and must leave the U.S. for emergency or business reasons. In the wake of September 11, 2001, there has been greater scrutiny of applications for parole and advanced parole. [1]

Parole (French, meaning "speech") is also a linguistic term used by Ferdinand de Saussure which, as opposed to langue, describes language in use rather than language as a system.

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