“The Second Sentencing”: A Qualitative Exploration of Women Going Up for Parole

• Author: Kaelyn Sanders
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/15570851221120357
• Published date: 01 April 2023
• Date: 01 April 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Feminist Criminology

2023, Vol. 18(2) 91–113

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/15570851221120357

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“The Second Sentencing”:A

Qualitative Exploration of

Women Going Up for Parole

Kaelyn Sanders

1



Abstract

Most prior studies of parole hearings focus on the parole board members’vantage

point rather than the parole-seeking individual. When parole-seeking individuals’

experiences are explored, the research typically uses male samples with few wom en.

Therefore, little is known about parole-seeking women’s experiences. Using a thematic

analysis and data from 15 interviews with system-involved women, the current study

examines their parole hearing experiences and ref‌lections. Findings contribute to the

literature on parole-seeking individuals by explaining women’s feelings throughout the

process, the support they receive, and how they prepared for their hearing. The

f‌indings inform recommendations for future research and practical implications.

Keywords

women, parole, prison, qualitative research

Introduction

When an individual goes up for parole, they are tasked with presenting themself as

worthy of being granted parole. In the last 40 years, the U.S. women’s state prison

population increased by over 834%, which exceeds the growth of men’s state prisons.

Between 2009 and 2015, Michigan’s male prison population decreased by 8%, but

women experienced a 30% increase (Sawyer, 2018). Despite women’s growing

1

School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

Corresponding Author:

Kaelyn Sanders, School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University, 557 Baker Hall, 655 Auditorium Road,

East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.

Email: sande505@msu.edu

presence in the criminal justice system, most studies on parole hearings use primarily

male samples (e.g., Huebner & Bynum, 2006;Kelly et al., 2020;West-Smith et al.,

2000), or they ignore parole-seeking individuals entirely and focus solely on the parole

board (e.g., Connor, 2016;Harbinson & Ruhland, 2020;Ruhland, 2020;Ruhland et al.,

2016).

The studies also tend to use quantitative data and analysis rather than qualitative

(e.g., Harbinson & Ruhland, 2020;Huebner & Bynum, 2006;Kelly et al., 2020;

(Renaud, 2019;Ruhland et al., 2016;Tewksbury & Connor, 2012). When qualitative

methods are used, the samples either include both men and women (e.g., Lavin-Loucks

& Levan, 2018;Silverstein, 2006;West-Smith et al., 2000), only include the parole

board members (e.g., Connor, 2016;Ruhland, 2020), or include parole-seeking in-

dividuals and parole board members (e.g., Lavin-Loucks & Levan, 2018;Silverstein,

2006). To my knowledge, there are no all-female studies on parole hearing experiences

that use qualitative or quantitative methods. Therefore, to broaden understanding, the

current study used semi-structured interviews to examine the accounts of 15 women

currently or recently on parole. The study aims to add to the literature on parole-seeking

individuals by amplifying the voices of system-involved women and providing sug-

gestions for tangible actions for future parole-seeking women.

Literature Review

In Michigan, a parole hearing is scheduled about 8 months before a person’s parole

eligibility date. One person from a three-member panel conducts the interview and

focuses on the individual’s criminal history, social history, substance abuse history,

institutional behavior, previous probation or parole adjustments, programming, and

parole plans. After the hearing, the individual interviewer will reconvene with the two

remaining members, and a majority vote is required for parole (CORRECTIONS, n.d.).

From 2019 to 2020, the number of approved parole releases granted in Michigan fell

slightly. In 2019, the parole board had 12,483 hearings, and 73% (9075) of the hearings

were approved for parole. In 2020, there were 12,218 hearings, and only 71% (8642)

were approved for parole (Herring, 2021). Annually, only 9% of Michigan prison

releases are women, meaning only 959 women are released each year (Sawyer, 2019).

However, the parole approval rate for women in Michigan is consistently high over

time. Data from 2013 showed a 90.6% approval rate for women compared to only

74.6% for men (NPRC, n.d.).

Parole release systems involve many rules, regulations, and individuals. The Prison

Policy Initiative (Renaud, 2019) reviewed the following f‌ive factors to grade the U.S.

parole release systems: if the parole board offers discretionary parole to most people

sentenced today, if parole-seeking individuals can meet face-to-face with board

members and other rules about witnesses and testimony, if the guiding principles of

parole decisions are fair, if staff provide parole-seeking individuals with preparation

help, and if the parole board is transparent about their use of evidence-based tools

(Renaud, 2019). Michigan received a “C”for their parole system’sf‌inal grade, and of

92 Feminist Criminology 18(2)