Two widely divergent pictures of the paroled man are, at present, in the minds of the people of Illinois. One picture is that of a hardened, vicious, and desperate criminal who returns from prison, unrepentant, intent only upon wreaking revenge upon society for the punishment he has sullenly endured. The other picture is that of a youth, perhaps the only son of a widowed mother, who on impulse, in a moment of weakness, yielded to the evil suggestion of wayward companions, and who now returns to society from the reformatory, determined to make good if only given a chance.

Brian Christian, The Alignment Problem, loc. 98708