Advocacy orgs demand changes to parole release guidelines

Criminal justice reform groups want Alabama parole guidelines focused on rehabilitation

A court clerk swears in people who will testify before the Pardons and Parole Board hearing in Montgomery, Ala., on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. Criminal justice reform groups have asked the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles to put more weight into a parole applicant's rehabilitative efforts than the severity of their crime in considering parole guidelines. (Stew Milne for Alabama Reflector)Several criminal justice reform organizations want new p…

Advocacy orgs demand changes to parole release guidelines

Four Alabama advocacy organizations joined forces to demand changes to the guidelines that serve as guides for whether to grant parole requests. The Southern Poverty Law Center, Alabama Arise, Alabama Justice Initiative and ACLU of Alabama drafted the letter as part of a public comment session on proposed regulation 640-X-A-2 repealing and replacing the current parole guidelines. The first suggested change is to ensure that where the severity of…