The exact nature of parole varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In the United States, courts may specify in a sentence how much time must be served before a prisoner is eligible for parole. Some states permit sentences of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole; other states do not, and any prisoner not facing the death penalty will eventually have the right to petition for release. In the United States federal justice system, there is currently no possibility of parole for any sentence.

In China, prisoners are often granted medical parole, which releases them on the grounds that they must receive medical treatment which cannot be provided for in prison. Often, the medical condition is not serious, and medical parole is used as an excuse to release a prisoner, particularly a political dissident, without the government having to admit that the sentence was unjust.

Parole (French, meaning "speech") is also a linguistic term used by Ferdinand de Saussure which, as opposed to langue, describes language in use rather than language as a system.