There’s a distinct and rather cunning whiff of cakeism about the new documentary series Parole. On the one hand, it can convincingly pass itself off as a sombre BBC2 exploration of the British justice system. On the other, it offers us an undeniably enjoyable, reality TV-style opportunity to compare our opinions with those of the experts.
Who doesn’t welcome the chance to indulge in some serious – or even titillating – armchair psychology?
Monday’s opening episode began with some solid statistical captions stating that 16,000 UK prisoners are considered for parole every year, that 4,000 are granted it and that each decision is made by a small panel drawn from the 346 members of the Parole Board. And with that, the programme got down to the juicier business of showing us two of the hearings.
First up was Colin Stacey, who in 1997 beat and kicked a man to death in a club carpark after a football argument.
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