What is "parole"

Parole \Pa*role"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Paroled; p. pr. & vb. n. Paroling.] (Mil. and Penology) To set at liberty on parole; as, to parole prisoners.

Parole \Pa*role"\, a. See 2d Parol.

Parole \Pa*role"\, n. [F. parole. See Parley, and cf. Parol.]

1. A word; an oral utterance. [Obs.]

2. Word of promise; word of honor; plighted faith; especially (Mil.), promise, upon one's faith and honor, to fulfill stated conditions, as not to bear arms against one's captors, to return to custody, or the like.

   This man had forfeited his military parole.
   --Macaulay.

3. (Mil.) A watchword given only to officers of guards; -- distinguished from countersign, which is given to all guards.

4. (Law) Oral declaration. See 1st Parol, 2.

5. The release of a prisoner from confinement prior to the end of the original sentence, conditioned on good behavior and often with other specific conditions, such as not to associate with known criminals. Such early release is common where the sentence provides a minimum and maximum term; as, he was released on parole after three years of his five-year sentence; he is out on parole.

6. A document authorizing a parole[5].

1610s, "word of honor," especially "promise by a prisoner of war not to escape," from French parole "word, speech" (in parole d'honneur "word of honor") from Vulgar Latin *paraula "speech, discourse," from Latin parabola (see parable). Sense of "conditional release of a prisoner before full term" is first attested 1908 in criminal slang.

1716, from parole (n.). Originally it was what the prisoner did ("pledge"); its transitive meaning "put on parole" is first attested 1782. Related: Paroled; paroling.

n. 1 The release or state of a former prisoner on the understanding that he/she checks in regularly and obeys the law. 2 The amount of time a former prisoner spends on limited release. 3 (context archaic English) A word of honor, especially given by a prisoner of war, to not engage in combat if released. 4 (context linguistics English) Language in use, as opposed to language as a system. 5 (context US immigration law English) The permission for foreigner who does not meet the technical requirements for a visa to be allowed to enter the U.S. on humanitarian grounds. 6 A watchword given only to officers of guards; distinguished from the countersign, which is given to all guards. 7 (context legal English) An oral declaration; see (term parol English). vb. (context transitive English) To release (a prisoner) on the understanding that s/he checks in regularly and obeys the law.

1. n. a promise; "he gave his word" [syn: word, word of honor]

2. a secret word or phrase known only to a restricted group; "he forgot the password" [syn: password, watchword, word, countersign]

3. (law) a conditional release from imprisonment that entitiles the person to serve the remainder of the sentence outside the prison as long as the terms of release are complied with

4. v. release a criminal from detention and place him on parole; "The prisoner was paroled after serving 10 years in prison"

Parole is the provisional release of a prisoner who agrees to certain conditions prior to the completion of the maximum sentence period, originating from the French parole ("voice", "spoken words"). The term became associated during the Middle Ages with the release of prisoners who gave their word.

This differs greatly from amnesty or commutation of sentence in that parolees are still considered to be serving their sentences, and may be returned to prison if they violate the conditions of their parole. A specific type of parole is medical parole or compassionate release which is the release of prisoners on medical or humanitarian grounds. Conditions of parole often include things such as obeying the law, refraining from drug and alcohol use, avoiding contact with the parolee's victims, obtaining employment, and maintaining required contacts with a parole officer. Some justice systems, such as the United States federal system, place defendants on supervised release after serving their entire prison sentence; this is not the same as parole. In Colorado, parole is an additional punishment after the entire prison sentence is served, called "mandatory parole", per §18-1.3-401(1)(a)(V)(B).

In United States immigration law, the term parole has three different meanings.

A person who does not meet the technical requirements for a visa or is inadmissible may be permitted to enter the United States on humanitarian parole for a temporary period of time, which includes a person who has been previously removed from the U.S. Humanitarian parole is granted on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Another use related to immigration is advance parole, in which a person who already legally resides in the U.S. needs to leave temporarily and return without a visa. This typically occurs when a person's application to adjust status to permanent residency (to obtain a green card) is pending and the person must leave the U.S. for emergency or business reasons. It is also used for a temporary travel of those who received deferred action status by the USCIS, or have an asylum application pending. In the wake of September 11, 2001, there has been greater scrutiny of applications for parole and advance parole.

Parole (1873–1903) was a Thoroughbred race horse bred by Pierre Lorillard, a scion of the tobacco family. Lorillard and his brother George were both horsemen and competed throughout their careers. Pierre founded the Rancocas Stable in New Jersey named after the New Jersey town where he owned a country manor.

Parole refers to an action of the judiciary system.

Parole may also refer to: