THE STUDY HAS FOUR AIMS: TO DESCRIBE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AMNESTIED PRISONERS AND THE EXTENT OF THEIR POSTRELEASE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY OVER A 3-YEAR PERIOD, TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF AMNESTY ON RECIDIVISM BY COMPARING AMNESTIED PRISONERS WITH OTHER RELEASED PRISONERS, TO EVALUATE THE CRITERIA USED BY ISRAEL'S PARLIAMENT IN DECIDING WHOM TO EXCLUDE FROM THE AMNESTY, AND TO DETERMINE WHETHER OTHER CRITERIA MIGHT HAVE BEEN MORE EFFECTIVE. STUDY SUBJECTS INCLUDE 476 OF THE 501 AMNESTIED PRISONERS, A CONTROL GROUP OF 373 RELEASED PRISONERS WHO WOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED AMNESTY HAD THEY BEEN IN PRISON AT THE TIME THE LAW WAS PASSED, AND A SECOND CONTROL GROUP OF 156 RELEASED PRISONERS WHO WOULD HAVE BEEN EXCLUDED FROM THE AMNESTY. FACTORS INFLUENCING THE POSTRELEASE SUCCESS OF AMNESTIED PRISONERS WERE SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME AS THOSE FOUND FOR OTHER OFFENDER GROUPS IN ISRAEL AND ELSEWHERE. THE SUCCESS RATE OF AMNESTIED PRISONERS WAS ALMOST IDENTICAL TO THAT OF CONTROLS. THE LEGISLATURE'S EXCLUSIONARY CRITERIA, WHICH WERE BASED PRIMARILY ON THE TYPE OF OFFENSE COMMITTED, WERE AT LEAST PARTIALLY SUCCESSFUL IN ELIMINATING PARTICULARLY HIGH-RISK OFFENDERS FROM THE AMNESTIED PRISONERS. HOWEVER, OTHER VARIABLES PARTICULARLY THOSE RELATING TO CRIMINAL BACKGROUND (E.G., AGE AT FIRST OFFENSE, FREQUENCY OF CONVICTION AND SENTENCING), WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE EFFECTIVE EXCLUSIONARY CRITERIA. SUPPORTING DATA AND A LIST OF REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (LKM)