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Close to 100,000 Minnesotans are on probation, some of them for sentences of 20 or 30 years. And simple technical violations — such as missing a meeting with their parole officer — could land them back in prison. 

, 31 percent of Minnesota’s prison population is made up of people who violated their probation. 

Last month the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission approved a five year cap on probation sentences — but that cap is not retroactive.

In this episode of Counter Stories, the hosts talk with three guests who are working to reform Minnesota’s parole and probation policies. 

Close to 100,000 Minnesotans are on probation, some of them for sentences of 20 or 30 years. And simple technical violations — such as missing a meeting with their parole officer — could land them back in prison. 


Close to one hundred thousand Minnesotans are on probation, some of them for sentences of twenty or thirty years. And simple technical violations - such as missing a meeting with their parole officer - can land them back in prison.

Counter Stories: When probation leads to prison

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