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The Law, Practice and Experience of ‘Conditional Freedom’ in Chile: No Man’s Land

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Parole and Beyond

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology ((PSIPP))

Abstract

A parole scheme was created in Chile in 1925, with the aim of modernising the prison system by introducing a mechanism of progressive release that promoted inmates’ social reintegration. Almost a century later, parole is being marginally used and its function of reintegration is questioned. This chapter expects to shed light on the legal framework, practice and experience of parole that make it a controversial tool for desistance and reintegration. The chapter is informed by interviews with two magistrates that have participated in Parole Commissions, four practitioners that have been involved in diverse stages of parole application and granting, and ten parolees. First, we outline the legal scheme of Chilean parole, starting with a brief description of the Criminal Justice System for readers not familiarised with it. In the second part, the experiences of practitioners and parolees are analysed in the light of the desistance framework, showing that the current parole practices do not support and even hinder the process of crime abandonment. Finally, the discussion reflects on the findings and recommends areas of improvement that can contribute to the understanding of parole and to improve its application in Chile.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Parole would be more precisely described as ‘conditional freedom’, because it is mainly a type of administrative supervision.

  2. 2.

    These are described in the Art. 96 of the Prison Regulations.

  3. 3.

    Created by the Law Decree N 542 of the year 1943.

  4. 4.

    Gendarmeria de Chile, created by the Organic Law, Decree Law 2,859 of the year 1979, is the public service dependent on the Ministry of Justice, in charge of managing the penal institutions, ensuring the effective compliance with custody and community sentences determined by the courts, and providing effective rehabilitation and resettlement programmes (Gendarmería, 2015).

  5. 5.

    This is the literal translation of the concept used within the prison system.

  6. 6.

    This depends on the type of crime committed, although most crimes are included.

  7. 7.

    Art. 1 of the Decree Nº 2442.

  8. 8.

    Art. 5 of the Decree Nº 2442 of the year 1926.

  9. 9.

    Therapeutic jurisprudence is the study of the role of the law as a social force that can trigger therapeutic or non-therapeutic outcomes, in other words, that can promote or hinder the psychological and emotional well being of the individuals who are affected by the law (Wexler, 1999).

  10. 10.

    “Juez de ejecución de penas” in the Spanish version, which refers to a judge that supervises the incarceration and post-incarceration stages.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Carolina Villagra

  2. Centre for Social Studies on Crime, Catholic University of Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Catalina Droppelmann

Authors
  1. Carolina Villagra
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  2. Catalina Droppelmann
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Correspondence to Carolina Villagra .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom

    Ruth Armstrong

  2. Faculty of Sociology, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania

    Ioan Durnescu

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Villagra, C., Droppelmann, C. (2016). The Law, Practice and Experience of ‘Conditional Freedom’ in Chile: No Man’s Land. In: Armstrong, R., Durnescu, I. (eds) Parole and Beyond. Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95118-5_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95118-5_8

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