The Alabama House of Representatives passed legislation Tuesday aimed at giving the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles more clarity and discretion in parole revocation cases.
Senate Bill 254, sponsored by Senator Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville, would give the board the authority to hold hearings to review and choose whether to reinstate parole when it has been revoked over a new charge that is later dismissed or reduced to a lesser offense.
When a person on parole is arrested for a new offense but has not yet been convicted, the legislation would allow the board to determine whether it is satisfied that the person appears to have committed the offense and whether or not to reinstate the individual’s parole.
The House voted 69-27 in favor of SB254. The Alabama Senate passed the legislation in March, and it now goes to Governor Kay Ivey for her signature.
Representative Laura Hall, D-Huntsville, spoke in favor of the bill Tuesday and answered questions from House colleagues.
“Senate Bill 254 is a narrowly tailored measure to improve the parole revocation statute,” Hall said. “Under current law, there is no mechanism to allow the board to reinstate a parole or set a hearing. So this bill adds a provision in a statute that gives the board the discretion to either reinstate parole or set a case for a parole hearing to consider that.”
Hall said the bill would strengthen the board’s discretion in parole revocation cases and give it explicit authority to reconsider cases in which parole has already been revoked or a new charge or arrest has been made.
“When a parole violation was involved, if there was a new arrest or a new charge, they did not feel that they had the right to allow that hearing, to determine whether or not the parole should be revoked or not,” she said.
Representative Russell Bedsole, R-Alabaster, said he opposes legislation that takes discretion away from the parole board. He asked Hall whether the parole board and state district attorneys support the bill.
“I have, in the past, especially in committee, been a vocal opponent, or on the opposite side if you will, on bills that I felt like took discretion away from our parole process,” Bedsole said. “It was interesting, as I was reading up on this bill, because I wanted to ensure that this was not one of those scenarios, that I really found in this bill, that it actually widens discretion to the parole board. Is that fair to say?”
Hall said the parole board supports the legislation and said the board believes it would provide greater clarity about board procedures and stronger discretion over parole board actions. She also said local district attorneys were “certainly in favor of the bill.”
Representative Jaundalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, and Representative Tracy Estes, R-Winfield, also spoke in favor of the bill.
“Since, you know, my days are numbered, I have two left in this chamber, and it just hit me in eight years, I’ve never turned on my speak button when Mrs. Hall was down here. So, I didn’t want to let that opportunity pass as many times as she has white-lighted me,” Estes said. “But I appreciate your bill. I think it’s a good bill and appreciate you bringing it up to us for a vote.”
SB254 has also drawn support from Alabama Arise and Alabama Appleseed, a criminal justice reform organization that called the bill a “common sense bill” that would “bring more fairness to the parole revocation process and prevent unnecessary revocations that do not contribute to public safety.”
Alabama Appleseed said SB254 grew out of years of research and communication with incarcerated people about problems in the parole process.
In a statement, Alabama Appleseed Policy Director Elaine Burdeshaw thanked Givhan and Hall “for being such wonderful champions” of the legislation, along with the advocates and lawmakers who “came together to make the bill better in the process.”
“We are thrilled at the passage of SB254. This legislation came as a direct result of our research and legal work on parole cases,” the organization said. “Most people don’t know that if someone’s parole is revoked for a new charge and they are later found to be not guilty of that charge, there’s no pathway in the law to allow the parole board to expedite their next parole hearing for reconsideration. With the passage of SB254 that pathway now exists.”
“This is a smart, measured approach to ensure the parole board has some discretion in cases where a person is not guilty of the charge that led to their revocation — it makes sure that someone who has been on parole doing well doesn’t sit unnecessarily in prison, further disrupting the life they’ve been trying to rebuild,” Appleseed said.
