Parole 101: People in Prison Deserve Second Chances

By NAZISH DHOLAKIA / VERA INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE

Anthony Dixon of Parole Prep says: “For 4 decades, the NYS Parole Board has been stockpiling human beings. We are one of the most punitive states in the nation. And that data has shown the structural racism behind this. Every three days a person dies in our prisons.” (Photo: RAPP)

We need to expand parole. Many states are doing the opposite.

Bobbi Cobaugh wrote in Inquest that “the only way to atone for a murder was to become a better person.” While incarcerated in the New York State prison system, she earned a paralegal degree, associate and bachelor’s degrees in sociology, and a master’s degree in criminal justice. She has completed—and taught—anger replacement programs. And she attends trauma counseling weekly.

Cobaugh committed to not only bettering herself but also uplifting others. She has assisted other women in prison with filing criminal and civil appeals and represented them at disciplinary hearings. She has helped women reduce their sentences, get visitation with their children, and even secure their release.

But she has not been able to secure her own. Incarcerated for more than 20 years, she has been denied release on parole three times.

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