New York State Board of Parole Auburn Prison Incarcerated Individual Parole Files

Numerical by consecutive number.

This series contains records created or assembled by the Board of Parole relating to the parole of incarcerated individuals from Auburn Prison. The board was responsible for deciding when an individual was eligible for parole based on their minimum sentence, progress and conduct during confinement, and the likely success of a parole program.

While on parole, an incarcerated individual remained in the legal custody of the prison's warden but was subject to the general jurisdiction and control of the State Parole Board. The board set the conditions of the parole and local parole officers or community agencies supervised the incarcerated individual during the parole period.

The board held regular meetings at the state's correctional institutions, including Auburn, and it used these records to assist its parole decisions and to monitor parole. For each incarcerated individual applying for parole, there is a folder with records documenting the entire process of parole from admission into the state correctional system through release on parole and return to confinement for any parole violation. Many that were paroled were eventually returned to prison for violating parole conditions. A substantial number of these individuals were subsequently paroled a second or even a third time. The incarcerated individual's parole folder contains pertinent records relating to each of these paroles.

The parole records contain files on approximately 5,000 incarcerated individuals from Auburn who applied for parole, including incarcerated individuals with consecutive numbers between #26751 and #52654. A portion of these parole records duplicate records found in the main series of Auburn Prison incarcerated individual case files (Series 14610-77A and 14610-88D). Approximately 75% of the people represented in the main case files also have a folder in the Board of Parole files.

For most of the period covered by the parole files, Auburn served as a transfer prison. It received incarcerated individuals from other institutions rather than by commitment directly from the courts. The files, therefore, include records from confinement at previous institutions, particularly Elmira Reformatory and Sing Sing Prison. The following is a description of the principal parole records:

1) RECORDS RELATING TO THE INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL AND HIS SENTENCE.

Receiving blotter. This blotter includes summary information on the incarcerated individual's personal and family history, education, military record, and crime and arrest record.

Division of Criminal Identification arrest record. This record contains information on all previous arrests and convictions relating to the incarcerated individual.

Board of Parole questionnaire. This record contains incarcerated individual responses to questions relating to the incarcerated individual's history. The questionnaire contains detailed information on their family, education, religion, and work and military history.

2) RECORDS RELATING TO THE INCARCERATED INDIVUDAL'S PAROLE APPLICATION AND RELEASE ON PAROLE.

Application for parole. In this record, the incarcerated individual describes his work during confinement, provides names of persons for personal references, and promises good conduct if released on parole.

Transcript of Parole Board hearing. This record is a verbatim transcript of the incarcerated individual's hearing before the Board of Parole. Typically, hearings consist of brief questions and answers relating to behavior during confinement and prospects for successful conduct and employment during parole.

Pre-parole reports. For each incarcerated individual applying for parole, the records contain several reports prepared by local parole officers. These reports, totaling approximately 20 pages in length, provide detailed descriptions of the incarcerated individual's family, education and religious life, associations, employment, and criminal history. The reports include detailed descriptions of the crime for which the incarcerated individual was presently sentenced.

Correspondence relating to parole application. The records include letters from family members, prospective employers, school officials, local district attorneys, clergy, and others relating to the suitability of the incarcerated individual for parole.

Certificate of release on parole. This record provides the date of parole, the name of the local parole officer who will supervise the incarcerated individual and the conditions under which the parole is granted.

3) REPORTS OF PRISON STAFF ON THE INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL'S CONFINEMENT

Report by the institutional parole officer. This report summarizes the incarcerated individual's confinement and his plans for parole, with recommendations by the parole officer.

Reports on incarcerated individual accomplishments. The records contain individual reports from a number of staff including the principal keeper or warden, physician, psychologist, psychiatrist, chaplain, and the head of the industrial department. There is also a summary record describing all these reports along with a report on the incarcerated individual's educational accomplishments and general adjustment to prison life.

4) REPORTS OF PAROLE AND VIOLATION OF PAROLE.

Monthly parole reports. For paroles granted through the 1920s, the records include monthly parole reports that describe the incarcerated individual's employment, wages received, expenses, and any special problems encountered during the month. The reports were completed by the incarcerated individual on parole and approved by the local parole officer. Reports may include comments by the parole officer.

Violation of parole reports. These reports, submitted to the Board of Parole by local parole officers, summarize the incarcerated individual's parole history and describe the conditions surrounding the violation of parole. The majority of parole violations consist of an arrest for new crimes and the reports provide details from local police authorities on the crime and subsequent arrest as well as a statement from the incarcerated individual.

5) CORRESPONDENCE, MEMORANDA, AND REPORTS RELATING TO AN APPLICATION FOR PAROLE AND PAROLE APPROVAL. The records include various letters and memoranda exchanged between the Board of Parole, local parole officers, and prison officials. These records relate to an incarcerated individual's application for parole, parole conditions, violations of parole, and return to prison after parole violation.

6) RECORDS RELATING TO EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY CASES. The files include records pertaining to incarcerated individual applications for commutation of sentence by the governor. In certain special cases, the governor would reduce the length of a person's sentence to make him eligible for early parole. The records include reports by prison staff and the Division of Parole describing the incarcerated individual's personal and criminal history, confinement in prison, and any special conditions warranting commutation of sentence. If the incarcerated individual received executive clemency, the records include a certificate of parole giving the conditions of the commutation.

Accretion 14610-77A, Auburn Prison Incarcerated Individual Case Files, 1914-[ca. 1950]

Accretion 14610-88D, Auburn Prison incarcerated individual case files, [ca. 1926]-1956

and Series B1276, Auburn Prison Classification Board incarcerated individuals record cards contain related records.

Originally accessioned as part of old collection #500, accession -441.

Summary information on adult incarcerated individuals is disclosable under law. State Archives staff will review records containing probation, parole, medical, and juvenile criminal history data and disclose information pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law and Personal Privacy Protection Law. The identity of victims of sex crimes is not disclosable. Unless a specific law forbids disclosure indefinitely, all records must be disclosed after 75 years.