The influence of inmate visitation on the decision to grant parole: An exploratory study

• The study examines the influence of inmate visitation on parole decision.
• Prison visitation significantly increases the likelihood of parole being granted.
• Impact of visitation varies by visitor pool size and visitor type.
• The findings raise questions for fair and equitable parole decisionmaking.

Recent studies highlight the positive influence that visitation of inmates can have on in-prison and post-release behavior. Less is known, however, about the effect that visitation has on the decision to release inmates via discretionary parole.PurposeThis study fills in this gap. It addresses the question of whether visitation of inmates influences parole decision outcomes (denial or granting of release). The study adds both to the literature on parole decisionmaking and on prison visitation.MethodsThe study relies on a recent 1000 + random sample of parole decisions from Pennsylvania. The analyses test for effects of various measures of prison visitation, including visitation intensity, visitor pool size, and visitor type, after controlling for other determinants of parole decisions.ResultsInmate visitation contributes strongly to explaining variation in parole decisions. Inmates who receive any visit are almost three times more likely to be released compared with their non-visited counterparts. There is also variation in impacts based on the number and type of visitors.ConclusionsThe findings, while suggestive of decisionmakers attuned to empirical research on reentry, also raise serious questions about the fairness of the parole decisionmaking process, especially when considering that the majority of inmates are never visited.