How Prison Policies Reflect Political Power

AQS Inmate Call · Jun 28, 2026 · 8m

When states abolish discretionary parole, does early release actually disappear? In this episode of AQS Inmate Call, Joel breaks down a powerful, eye-opening brief by the Prison Policy Initiative that exposes the hidden reality of truth-in-sentencing laws.Seventeen states and Washington D.C. have shifted to "determinate sentencing," but their taxpayer-funded parole boards never packed up and went home. Instead, they’ve become "hollowed-out" authorities—holding massive political power, managing dwindling pre-abolition populations, and maintaining abysmal grant rates as low as 1% in states like…