Maryland Parole Hearing Schedule 2023 (2024)

FAQs

How long is a life sentence in Maryland for parole? ›

Eligibility is still 15 years for life with parole. Someone sentenced to life as a result of a proceeding pursuant to Article 27 §413 (death penalty) is not eligible for parole considerations until he/she has served 25 years.

The Maryland Parole Commission is charged with determining on a case-by-case basis whether incarcerated individuals serving sentences of six months or more in state or local facilities are suitable for release into the community under certain conditions or supervision by the Division of Parole and Probation.

Starting in October, Marylanders reentering society after a period in prison will no longer face a state fee for parole supervision that a national public policy institute criticized as “penny-wise, pound-foolish.”

The Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention and the Maryland State Board of Victim Services administers the VINE and VINE Protective Order Service Programs. VINE - Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE) allows victims to track offenders' custody, probation, parole, or protective order status.

Any sentence without parole effectively means a sentence cannot be suspended; a life sentence without parole, therefore, means that in the absence of unlikely circumstances such as pardon, amnesty or humanitarian grounds (e.g. imminent death), the prisoner will spend the rest of their natural life in prison.

Sometimes indeterminate sentences contain a number of years before the life sentence part, as in 25 years to life. This timeframe gives the judge leeway for assigning the minimum years, as well as the point at which the possibility of parole can be reached.

Today, there are three basic types of parole in the United States, discretionary, mandatory, and expiatory.

Incarcerated people eligible for parole are entitled to release unless they currently pose an unreasonable risk to public safety. The Governor weighs numerous factors when assessing current risk level. The Governor's parole review process can take up to 150 days following a parole hearing.

Parole hearings are held to determine if an inmate currently poses an unreasonable risk of danger to society if released from prison. The panel will consider “all relevant, reliable information available to the panel” in determining the inmate's suitability for parole.

In Maryland, 32,000 people are incarcerated and another 62,500 are on probation or parole. Jails in Maryland charge up to $3.15 for a 15-minute phone call, reaping profits for companies, while prisons charge 48¢ for a 15-minute call.

How much of a sentence before parole? ›

The process begins at sentencing. Unless the court has specified a minimum time for the offender to serve, or has imposed an "indeterminate" type of sentence, parole eligibility occurs upon completion of one-third of the term.

Failure rates are high. Less than half (46 percent) of all parolees successfully complete parole without violating a condition of release, absconding, or committing a new crime (Glaze and Palla 2005).

Generally, Maryland's probation and parole agents do not carry a firearm, are not classified as peace officers and do not have the power to arrest.

Factors tending to show an inmate's suitability include: (1) lack of a juvenile record, (2) stable social history, (3) signs of remorse, (4) motivation for the crime, (5) lack of criminal history, (6) age, (7) understanding and plans for the future, and (8) institutional behavior. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 15.

If you need information about court records, there is a valuable on-line tool that can help. It's called Maryland Judiciary Case Search or just “Case Search.” To get started visit mdcourts.gov/casesearch.

Life without parole means you will live out the rest of your life in prison. You'll never have a chance to leave. Life with parole means after a certain time period (anywhere from 15 to 40 years depending on the state), you become eligible for parole.

Under current law, inmates sentenced to life imprisonment must serve 15 years minus diminution credits or 25 years minus diminution credits (for cases in which a life without parole or death sentence was sought but not imposed by the court) to be eligible for parole.

Maryland law provides two types of life sentences – those eligible for parole and those without the possibility of parole.

For example, a sentence of "15 years to life" or "25 years to life" is called an "indeterminate life sentence", while a sentence of "life without the possibility of parole" or "life without parole" (LWOP) is called a "determinate life sentence".