Samenvatting

The duration of conditional release has changed from one third of the prison sentence to a maximum of two years. One goal of this alteration was to increase credibility and legitimacy of prison sentences. This experimental study focuses on whether the new system improves this as compared to the previous situation. Results show that sentences based on the new system don’t receive higher valuation from Dutch citizens than sentences based on the old system. Therefore, an important reason for the change isn’t supported by our findings. Rather, what remains is a system riddled with objections and possible negative effects for prisoners and society.