The author describes the development of the current parole system, which was seriously compromised in the 1970's by the introduction of mandatory supervision, under which conditional release has become a bilateral contract between offender and decisionmaker, and subsequently between parolee and supervisor. The dominant precipitating factor in the ongoing weakness of the parole process lies in the selection of those decisionmakers. What is often not recognized is the importance of the imprisonment period in establishment an effective supervisory period for the parolee. The author argues that the basic premises upon which the parole system are valid, and need to be reinvigorated so that individual offenders, based on their unique characteristics, will be afforded the opportunity to reintegrate into society while under supervision.