News By Tag
News By Location
Parole Officer and Prisoner tell their Story
An Inside Look at The Criminal Justice System With Suggestions On How to Break the Cycle of Incarceration.
By: Joseph A Marro, author
Marro was a United States Parole Officer who spent 23 years working with individuals who broke the law. He described his interactions with those who are on parole after they serve their sentences. Al Sailer is his most memorable case. A highly articulate person, the son of a former newspaper editor, Al compiled a manuscript about the criminal justice system from his viewpoint of the inside.
After serving in the US Air Corps during World War II Al found it easy to exist by passing worthless checks. He was on probation when he broke into an auto and stole a check book. Prison became his home for more than half his life. "It becomes a way of life - lonely and meager as it is. But it provides a place to sleep and food to eat."
Sailer studied dentistry while in prison. He learned how to make dentures and partial plates and bridges, but more often he was called upon to re-set broken jaws.
In his correspondence with Marro he suggested that changes should be made in rehabilitation methods. Punishment reeks of vengeance, he wrote. "We need to learn proper thinking habits, how to break the cycle."
In prison Sailer discovered his artistic talents. Many of his drawings reflected how time drags while incarcerated. When Sailer was released Marro assisted him in learning to adjust to life on the outside. He got a job in a hardware store received commissions for his art work and was building a relationship with a woman his age when he had an accident. Falling on an icy walkway he fractured his spine and died from complications. But he had given Marro a manuscript about the criminal justice system flaws and asked that it be published. This together with Marro's view as parole officer makes for interesting reading.