A new book reveals that parole boards deciding early release for homicide cases engage in moral evaluations that extend beyond risk assessment and rehabilitation. Based on nearly 500 parole hearings in Israel, the book shows how board members, victims' families, prosecutors, and applicants address questions of remorse, justice, and personal change throughout the hearing process. The analysis suggests that parole serves as a meaningful arena where the moral significance of crime, character, and deserved punishment is reconsidered over time.

A new book by Dr. Netanel Dagan of the Hebrew University Faculty of Law offers an insightful look into one of the least understood, yet most powerful, institutions in the criminal justice system: the parole board. Revisiting Justice: The Moral Meaning of Parole, published by Cambridge University Press, draws on an unprecedented mixed-method analysis of 483 parole hearings for homicide cases in Israel, revealing that parole boards perform far more than technical risk assessments—they engage in complex moral judgment about crime, character, and deserved punishment.

Based on four years of systematic research, the book shows that moral and retributive considerations play a decisive and measurable role in early-release decisions, reshaping long-held assumptions about how and why people convicted of serious crimes are granted or denied parole.

More Than Risk and Rehabilitation
While parole is commonly viewed as a forward-looking mechanism focused on future dangerousness, Dagan’s findings paint a far richer picture. His quantitative analysis shows that moral factors, such as compensating victims or showing ‘insight’ into the crime, exert a unique statistical influence on decisions, accounting for 11.6% of the variability in parole decisions, beyond risk and rehabilitation. Notably, individuals who demonstrated genuine insight into their offense were 3.8 times more likely to be released than not released.

“These findings challenge the traditional view of parole as a purely utilitarian, bureaucratic procedure,” said Dr. Dagan. “They reveal that parole hearings have a profound moral dimension in which board members revisit the meaning of the crime and the transformation of the individual over time.”

Parole as a Forum for ‘Late Justice’
The book introduces the concept of “late justice,” the idea that parole hearings often function as a second, morally infused evaluation of crime and punishment, years after sentencing. Parole boards, Dagan shows, frequently revisit the severity of the offense through a contextual lens: considering the person’s age at the time, mental state, or histories of victimization. They also rely on moral cues such as remorse, institutional conduct, and efforts to repair harm when determining whether an applicant has crossed the “moral threshold” necessary for reintegration.

This dynamic creates what Dagan calls a “moral theater,” where prosecutors, victims’ families, applicants, and board members actively negotiate the meaning of guilt, character, and atonement.

A Window into the Voices in the Room
The book also sheds light on the roles played by Attorney General representatives and the families of victims, who often reinforce the original judicial narrative of the crime and its gravity. Victims’ families frequently express the emotional and moral struggle of facing the possibility of release, while applicants engage in what Dagan terms “moral labor”: reframing their past, articulating remorse, and demonstrating moral growth in order to justify early release.

Implications for Policy and Practice
The research calls for significant reforms in parole policy, including:

• Greater transparency around moral reasoning in parole decisions
• Enhanced training for Attorney General representatives to address the moral dimensions of hearings
• Improved support for victims’ families participating in the parole process

“This book invites criminologists, policymakers, and the public to rethink what parole really is,” said Dr. Dagan. “It is not merely an administrative gatekeeping process, it is one of the most important moral institutions in the criminal justice system.”
Link to book: https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/abs/revisiting-justice/8EA5779B9F63D4F29C190A3B53FB8BEB