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Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Criminal justice reform takes back seat in 2025 legislative session
A pair of handcuffs poking through prison bars. Most bills aimed at reforming the criminal justice system failed in the session, though advocates were encouraged by the progress of some proposals. (File/Getty) It was the same story for criminal justice reform in the Alabama Legislature this year as in previous years: bills got filed, but most never made it to Gov. Kay Ivey's desk. Legislators did enact laws making incremental changes, such as a bill to make it easier for people who were formerly incarcerated to obtain occupational licenses and create more opportunities for diversion programs were approved. And advocates said they were encouraged that legislation they continue to support moved further along in the process than in the past. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'Giving a grade on criminal justice reform in Alabama is always a challenge because the steps that are taken forward are, oftentimes, minimal, although they are impactful to certain segments of the population,' said Jerome Dees, policy director for the Southern Poverty Law Center. 'However, what we as a collective community need to do is change the narrative around what actually is public safety and what drives making neighborhoods and communities safe.' Bills to reform the parole and bail system in the state; allowing reconsideration of sentences for nonviolent offenses imposed before reforms of the Habitual Felony Offender Act, and delaying sentencing for those who are pregnant failed within their committees or stalled and were not considered by either the full House or Senate. 'There wasn't any legislation passed for criminal justice reform, but there were still some very meaningful conversations about it that did move the needle forward, including a very frank discussion about the parole board to make sure there is oversight and attention to that fact that the parole board is not in compliance with the law,' said Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa. The Republican-dominated Legislature instead approved measures that increased existing penalties or provided an advantage to law enforcement in some way, including a bill enhancing immunity protections for law enforcement. Reforming parole and bail was a focus of advocates, particularly as Republican legislators had shown growing impatience with the Alabama Board of Pardons and Parole missing deadlines to implement parole guidelines. 'I think one of the many things that we hoped to see coming out of the 2025 legislative session was legislation that created more accountability and transparency around the parole process,' Dees said. 'There were a number of bills that were filed to specifically address that.' HB 40, sponsored England, would have created a commission to create updated parole guidelines and require the board to stick with them. Under the bill, if the board deviated from the guidelines, it would have to publicly state why. Parole applicants would also have been able to appeal denials to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals. Another bill, SB 324, sponsored by Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville, would have increased the number of members who serve on the Parole Board from three to five and require the Senate to confirm the appointments. It would also have changed the timeline that an applicant who has been denied can reapply for parole. The Senate approved the measure by a vote of 16-8 in April and the House Judiciary Committee approved the bill soon afterward by the narrowest of margins. The bill did not come out for a House vote. Chambliss later amended the state's 2026 General Fund budget, which goes into effect on Oct. 1, to withhold the Board of Pardons and Parole's funding until they develop parole guidelines. Lawmakers have scrutinized Alabama's parole system since 2019 when the state's parole system decreased dramatically. The figure has increased to about 25% recently but remains below the original rate. Legislators also turned away proposals to allow Alabama judges to issue a percentage bond to those in pretrial detention. HB 42, also sponsored by England, would have left much of the Alabama Bail Reform Act of 1993 in place except to add three words, 'a part of' to current statutes to give judges the authority to allow defendants to pay a portion of the total bond amount they owe so that they can be released from jail as their cases proceed through the court system. The bail bond industry strongly opposed the legislation during two public hearings at both the House and Senate Judiciary committees. The bill passed the House in April. But the Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked on approval of the measure along party lines. The Alabama Legislature also allowed another bill, SB 156, sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, to fail. The bill allows some of those incarcerated in Alabama's prisons to have their sentences reconsidered by a judge if their crimes did not involve physical injury to others. The bill would have allowed people who were convicted and received lengthy sentences before the state made substantial changes to the Habitual Offender Law in 2000 to give judges more discretion regarding sentencing. Defendants who were convicted of homicides, sexually based offenses and violent offenses were not eligible for reconsideration. The bill required two rounds of voting in the Senate chamber after members of the Senate Judiciary approved it in February. In March, Senate Republicans rejected the legislation with a tie vote 16-16. Hours later, senators approved a motion to reconsider the legislation, and after discussing the bill, passed it by a vote of 17-8. The House Judiciary Committee then approved the legislation in April, but it never came to a vote in the House. 'We were of course disappointed to see the Second Chance bill fail to pass the House, especially in light of the broad, bipartisan support it had this time around,' said Elaine Burdeshaw in a statement, policy director for Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, a criminal justice reform organization. 'Despite the bill's failure, we saw legislators across the aisle, all the way up to Gov. Ivey, understand this issue and why it matters– why it really is smart on crime policy.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Criminal justice reform group urges passage of Alabama parole reform bills
Veronica Johnson, interim executive director of the Alabama Justice Coalition, speaks with supporters at the Alabama Statehouse on Tuesday, April, 8 2025 who attended the event to urge lawmakers to enact legislation to reform the state's parole system. (Ralph Chapoco/Alabama Reflector) A criminal justice reform group held a rally at the Alabama Statehouse Tuesday urging lawmakers to pass bills overhauling parole. About 20 supporters attended the gathering led by Alabamians for Fair Justice Coalition and the Alabama Justice Initiative urging lawmakers to pass two bills: SB 157, sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, which would permit those who are incarcerated to virtually attend their parole hearings and address the board via phone or video conference; and HB 40, sponsored by Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, which would create new oversight of the parole board. The state's relatively low parole rates have long drawn criticism from criminal justice reform advocates. The state's parole rate was about 24% in February, according to the Bureau of Pardons and Paroles, higher than the 8% grant rate in 2023 but dramatically down from the 55% that it was in 2017. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Lawmakers have also expressed frustration with Leigh Gwathney, chair of the Parole Board. P.J. Brown, an advocate from Montgomery who attended the event, said that she attended a parole hearing in February to speak on behalf of her son whose case was before the board. Brown said the board reviewed her son's case along with four others in a group. All applicants in that group were denied. 'One gentleman had been there for 27 years, 27 plus, certifications, different courses he had taken to turn himself around and be one of the liaisons for other inmates coming in who just didn't understand how to do time,' Brown said. Veronica Johnson, interim executive director of the Alabama Justice Coalition, said they wanted 'a new Parole Board.' 'We want oversight over the Parole Board,' she said. 'We need accountability, and at this point, we have no accountability.' SB 157 and HB 40 remain stalled in their chambers of origin. SB 157 would change the current protocol, which bars parole applicants from directly addressing the Board at their hearings and instead requires them to submit written statements or have information referred to the board through interviews with personnel who prepare their materials. The bill also states that the applicant is not permitted to interact with the victims unless they want to hear the statement. HB 40 directs the Board of Pardons and Paroles to create guidelines on parole and release. The bill would require the Board to give reasons for deviating from the guidelines in denying parole and allows applicants to appeal the Board's decision to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals should they be denied. Similar bills to HB 40 failed for the past three years after Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee refused to support it, but it passed this year after England was able to convince enough Republicans to back the measure. Brown said she is not against punishment, but against getting punished maliciously. 'When did the rehabilitation start?' she said. 'When did the punishment end that they had to continue on to be kicked down and be shoved back into that institution.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Third time's a charm: Alabama House committee approves state parole board reform bill
Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa (right) speaks with Rep. Jim Hill, R-Odenville, on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on Feb. 12, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday approved a bill sponsored by England to create oversight of the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles and develop parole standards. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) The Alabama House Judiciary Committee Wednesday approved a bill that would create parole guidelines and subject the state's parole board to oversight after three years of effort by the bill's sponsor. HB 40, sponsored by Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, passed the committee on an 8-6. Four Republicans joined all four Democrats on the committee in supporting the bill. England said after the vote that he viewed it as a sign that legislators' frustrations with the parole board and relatively low parole rates in the state were mounting. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'I think it is a recognition that the current parole board, and the process itself, is broken,' England said in an interview following the meeting. 'Like I said in the presentation today, any board that exists that has openly not followed the law, has worked to change the guidelines without any sort of oversight, and is currently pushing back on any efforts for us to get information about how the work is going, needs some sort of oversight.' Parole rates have declined dramatically since 2017 when members of the board granted parole to about 54% of applicants. At points since, the rates have fallen to single digits, sometimes as low as 7%, according to an analysis by the ACLU of Alabama in 2023. They rebounded to slightly more than 20% within the past year. England's bill would create a Criminal Justice Policy Development Council, composed of legislators, agency leaders and victim advocates, that would oversee the creation of a validated risk assessment tool for use by both the Alabama Department of Corrections as well as the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles. The council would also create and adopt parole guidelines to be used by the Alabama Board of Pardons to determine parole grants. It will also update the inmate classification system for use by the ADOC. The bill also mandates that the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles create parole release guidelines to gauge whether someone currently incarcerated can be released from prison without fear of public safety. 'The parole release guidelines shall be used by the board in the parole process and shall promote the use of prison space for the most violent and greatest risk offenders, while recognizing that the board's paramount duty is to protect public safety,' the bill states. The guidelines developed by the parole board will be based on the validated risk assessment, as well as input from victims, prosecutors and law enforcement and the parole applicant. It will also incorporate input from the applicant's behavior while incarcerated and whether the individual participated in programs while in prison to reduce the risk of reoffending. The bill requires that the parole board give a reason when they decide whether to grant parole that deviates from the parole release guidelines. England's bill allows applicants to appeal the parole board's decision to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals should they be denied. England sold his legislation to colleagues by telling them his legislation will offer greater accountability and transparency for the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles. Lawmakers from both parties have voiced growing frustration with the Board and the Alabama Department of Corrections in recent years. Family and friends of those incarcerated described violence, extortion attempts and sexual assaults against their loved ones at several Joint Prison Oversight Committee meetings in the past two years. During one meeting of the Contract Review Committee in June last year, Rep. Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, urged ADOC staff to intervene after a constituent reported receiving a video from a prison threatening a sexual assault against their incarcerated child if they did not pay the person. In the fall 2024, lawmakers asked Leigh Gwathney, chair of the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles, pointed questions about why her agency has not answered their questions. England's bill has faced strong opposition on the House Judiciary Committee in the past. But lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee were more muted on Wednesday. Rep. Cynthia Almond, R-Tuscaloosa asked England if other states implemented similar measures. 'Some of the language that was put into this bill came from concepts that other states had,' England said. Another lawmaker, Rep. Bryan Brinyark, R-Northport, asked England if there was any associated cost with the reforms, to which England there were not unless the Council hired a third party to assist with research. Almond voted against the bill while Brinyark voted in favor of it. The bill moves to the full House. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
