# Parole: do you really have to admit guilt? (Canada) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 15, 2017, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parole-do-you-really-have-to-admit-guilt-canada/791314 "2017-07-15T13:21:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parole-do-you-really-have-to-admit-guilt-canada/791314/1 "2017-07-15T13:21:59Z")
Inspired by [this story in the Globe and Mail](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/phillip-tallio-appeal/article35680801/). The article says that Phillip Tallio was convicted in 1983 of having sexually assaulted and murdered his 22-month-old cousin, but that he has always denied having done it. This is the part that troubles me: > [@](#): > > Mr. Tallio, 51, has been eligible for parole since 1993, but has been repeatedly denied any kind of release, because of his steadfast refusal to accept responsibility for the murder. He has been held long past when most offenders are granted parole, even for the most heinous crimes. Is this normal? I was always under the impression that an innocent person could keep denying all the way. Is parole really conditional on admitting/pretending that you did the deed? ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parole-do-you-really-have-to-admit-guilt-canada/791314/2 "2017-07-15T13:28:47Z")
Ah, I hadn’t seen that Tallio [had signed a confession at the time](http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/tallio-day-3-a-mountie-and-a-signed-confession). I guess that’s a major factor. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parole-do-you-really-have-to-admit-guilt-canada/791314/3 "2017-07-15T13:29:20Z")
It’s not just in Canada. Wikipedia calls it the Innocent Prisoner’s Dilemma. > **[Innocent prisoner's dilemma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innocent_prisoner%27s_dilemma)** > > The innocent prisoner's dilemma, or parole deal, is a detrimental effect of a legal system in which admission of guilt can result in reduced sentences or early parole. When an innocent person is wrongly convicted of a crime, legal systems which need the individual to admit guilt — as, for example, a prerequisite step leading to parole — punish an innocent person for their integrity, and reward a person lacking in integrity. There have been cases where innocent prisoners were given the choice bet... You may find this article interesting: The ‘Catch 22’ of Parole for the Wrongfully Convicted > **[The ‘Catch 22’ of Parole for the Wrongfully Convicted](https://wrongfulconvictionsblog.org/2013/07/19/the-catch-22-of-parole-for-the-wrongfully-convicted/)** > > Parole.  Parole is the release from prison, prior to completion of full sentence, under supervised conditions.  The parolee is still considered to be serving his/her prison term.  The granting of p… > [@](#): > > One of the less recognized aspects of the conditions required for grant of parole has to do with “having achieved sufficient rehabilitation.” Parole boards commonly require that a prisoner “admit guilt and express remorse” before they will grant parole. The parole officials in some states will insist that admission of guilt is not a precondition. California law prohibits “admission of guilt” as a precondition for parole, and New Jersey parole board officials insist that “admission of guilt” is not a precondition for parole to be granted. But it seems that this is an area where “theory” and “practice” do not necessarily agree. And as I mentioned above, as far as I can tell, parole boards have no accountability or oversight to ensure that “admission of guilt” is, in fact, not a precondition. Also, here is a GD thread from 2008: > **[Admit guilt or no parole?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=466123)** > > As I understand it, in order for a convict to be eligible for parole they generally have to admit that they were guilty of the crime for which they were convicted. (Please correct me if I’m wrong about this.) This requirement only makes sense if we... ---
**Author:** ![Rama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ccd318/32.png) [@Rama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rama)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parole-do-you-really-have-to-admit-guilt-canada/791314/4 "2017-07-15T14:22:07Z")
Yeah I would say it’s more about the remorse part and showing you’re a better person now. Kind of unfair for people who really haven’t committed the crime IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parole-do-you-really-have-to-admit-guilt-canada/791314/5 "2017-07-15T14:42:41Z")
“I am sorry I never did this.” ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parole-do-you-really-have-to-admit-guilt-canada/791314/6 "2017-07-15T15:00:34Z")
It’s the same problem with a plea deal - the person cannot simply say “I am innocent but it’s easier to take the deal than to fight it in court.” There’s the case of Omar Khadr in the news in Canada today. He was arrested in Afghanistan after a firefight during the invasion of Afghanistan, and accused of throwing the grenade that killed a US army medic. He spent the last decade-plus in Guantanamo until about two years ago, after a few failed trials, to get transferred to Canada he had to plead guilty to the charges. Oh, and he was 15 at the time, he was dragged to Afghanistan by his crazy father, friend on bin Laden, when he was 10. (Since when do western countries prosecute the footsoldiers in a regular shooting war? Child soldiers?) So he had to plead guilty (after years of torture) to a charge he still denies. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parole-do-you-really-have-to-admit-guilt-canada/791314/7 "2017-07-16T03:17:28Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > It’s the same problem with a plea deal - the person cannot simply say “I am innocent but it’s easier to take the deal than to fight it in court.” Some jurisdictions avoid this problem by allowing the defendant to plead “[no contest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nolo_contendere)”. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parole-do-you-really-have-to-admit-guilt-canada/791314/8 "2017-07-16T04:20:33Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > It’s the same problem with a plea deal - the person cannot simply say “I am innocent but it’s easier to take the deal than to fight it in court.” In some states, he can. It’s called an [Alford Plea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alford_plea). ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parole-do-you-really-have-to-admit-guilt-canada/791314/9 "2017-07-17T16:00:23Z")
Yeah, this is one of those idiosyncrasies/problems with the legal system. At the parole hearing, the prisoner is expected to show remorse and provide evidence of rehabilitation, which he can’t do if he has insisted he is not guilty the whole time. The same applies to sentencing, of course, where judges will often hand down a longer sentence because the defendant hasn’t admitted guilt and shown remorse. It really makes no sense to me. “I’m appalled and saddened that this person was assaulted and killed. It was a horrendous crime. But I had nothing to do with it.” ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parole-do-you-really-have-to-admit-guilt-canada/791314/10 "2017-07-18T00:15:06Z")
Here’s a couple of articles on it: [The Innocence Trap](https://thetyee.ca/News/2013/10/23/The-Innocence-Trap/) [Fixing Parole for the Wrongfully Convicted](https://thetyee.ca/News/2013/10/24/Parole-Wrongfully-Convicted/) ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parole-do-you-really-have-to-admit-guilt-canada/791314/11 "2017-07-18T22:47:31Z")
I just don’t see the alternative here. To grant parole the convict should acknowledge his/her regret at having committed the crime. It isn’t the job of the parole board to declare someone innocent. If the authorities are convinced someone is not guilty then the courts should take the appropriate steps to free them. Parole is for guilty people who regret their crimes not innocent people who deny them. I understand this can lead to frustration on the part of the imprisoned but they cannot expect the parole board to deal with their complaints.