parole

When Larry Bland was sentenced to more than 30 years in state prison for a non-violent robbery in 1991, he vowed to transform his life. Behind bars, he studied and got certified to work in wastewater management. Granted parole in 2010, he got a job on Cape Cod, a partner, an apartment and a dog.

Harold Adams spent more than half a century in the state’s criminal justice system — 31 years in state prison and another 22 years out on parole in the community. He spent those two decades checking in with a parole officer at least once a month, restricted from free travel, wary of random searches and, until recently, paying $85 a month in monthly parole fees.