On the Parole Board by Frederic G. Reamer

Author:Frederic G. Reamer [Reamer, Frederic G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ream17732, SOC025000, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Social Work, SOC004000, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Criminology
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 2016-03-16T16:00:00+00:00

5

Redemption and Hope

“Hope” is the thing with feathers—

That perches in the soul—

And sings the tune without the words—

And never stops—at all—

—Emily Dickinson

I was devastated when Carl Blefary walked into the Medium Security prison’s parole board hearing room. He looked at me and smiled tentatively and sheepishly. Blefary was appearing before us as an alleged parole violator. My job was to decide, along with my colleagues, whether to revoke Blefary’s parole, require him to serve more time in prison, or release him for additional substance abuse treatment.

Almost exactly a year earlier Blefary had been out of prison and in the audience of a regional continuing education lecture I had delivered at a large addictions conference. During a break in that meeting, Blefary had told me excitedly about his new job working as a drug counselor in an outpatient program. We had met previously at three parole board hearings during Blefary’s two earlier prison sentences.

When I talked with Blefary at the conference, I was delighted to hear about his progress, recovery, and new job. I remember thinking to myself, “This is the fruit of the labor; this is why I do this work.”

My heart sank fast when I saw Blefary back in prison. This was yet another reminder of a time-honored adage in this line of work: Never get too comfortable. Never assume the battle is over. A colleague once told me, “You never know whether someone we release will reoffend, no matter how promising it looks, until their coffin is lowered into the ground.”

My parole board votes were based in part on thorough risk assessments using the latest actuarial, state-of-the-art instruments, but forecasting human behavior, particularly among offenders, is far from an exact science. I like to think that the comprehensive reviews greatly increase the likelihood of a good outcome, but they certainly do not guarantee one.

Toward the beginning of his presentation to the board, Blefary addressed me directly:

Dr. Reamer, I’m so embarrassed to be sitting in front of you again with this uniform on. I was doing so well. Remember when we saw each other last year at the conference where you spoke? I remember the happy look on your face when I told you how I was doing. You told me how proud you were.

And now look at me. I’m just plain ashamed.

I did not hide my disappointment. I told Blefary I was so sad to see him back in prison. I told him how much potential he had and that I still believed in him. I then asked him to tell the board what had led him back to prison.

Things was going real good. When I got out of prison last time, you guys sent me to Lincoln House for rehab. That’s a good place, and I learned a lot. I have nothing bad to say about them. This is my fault, pure and simple.

What happened is that I completed the program, and I was going to NA [Narcotics Anonymous] meetings, mostly at St. Aloysius Church over on Waltham Street.

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