Parole

Parole is the provisional release of a prisoner who agrees to certain conditions. Originating from the Italian parole (“voice”, “spoken words”), the term became associated during the Middle Ages with the release of prisoners who gave their word of honor to abide by certain restrictions. Both civilian prisoners and prisoners of war may be paroled under certain circumstances. Parole should not be confused with probation, which is a term of supervision assigned instead of a prison sentence rather than early release from prison.