END LONG-TERM PAROLE
Pennsylvania has the highest number of people on lifetime parole than any other state in the nation. It is fundamentally an extension of mass incarceration, and the use of parole revocations is a main driver of mass incarceration. More than 50 percent of the Pennsylvania prison population is currently incarcerated on a parole violation.
These violations are often technical. Parole comes with an arbitrary list of restrictions on everyday human activities—all of which are consistently and subjectively redefined by parole officers. Parole functions as an invisible shackle for thousands of Pennsylvanians, tethering our mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, cousins, neighbors and friends to lasting and indefinite correctional control and surveillance. Supervision is as dehumanizing as it is destructive to individuals and families.
Parole is also destructive to the commonwealth. Pennsylvania spends hundreds of millions of dollars every year on unnecessary supervision, parole revocations, and re-incarceration of people who have not committed any new crimes.
Sunset parole legislation can change all this.
- advocating for legislation to end long-term and lifetime parole, and
- creating a “sunset” clause as an off-ramp for people serving lifetime parole and long-term parole who meet specific criteria to qualify for termination of parole.
What is Sunset Parole?
Sunset parole legislation would provide a pathway off of long-term parole supervision for people on parole aged 40 and over. The legislation would allow people who have been on parole for 3 to 5 years to apply for early termination of parole with the sentencing court in the county they were convicted and sentenced in.
Why age 40+ and why 3 to 5 years?
Data show that people age out of criminal behavior starting in their late 30’s and are least likely to reoffend the older they get. Additionally, data indicates that parole supervision has diminishing returns after approximately three years, the period during which most recidivism takes place. Those who have made a successful transition without any infractions and become acclimated back into society as a productive citizen should not still be on parole.
Who would be eligible for Sunset parole?
Anyone on parole. Parolees convicted of sex offenses or on civil commitment due to sex offenses would not be eligible.
How many people are currently on parole in Pennsylvania?
As of the PA Department of Corrections’ latest statistics from March 2025, there were 30,176 people on parole in Pennsylvania: 10,820 in the Eastern Region, 10,065 in the Central Region, and 9,291 in the Western Region.