The Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) is scaling back the scheduled release of over 400 inmates on Tuesday to just under 100.
According to Cam Ward, director of the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles (ABPP), ADOC will release 96 inmates after they are fitted with electronic monitoring devices by officers with ABPP.
Controversy arose after Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall sued Ward and ADOC director John Hamm on Monday to halt the scheduled release of 408 inmates.
According to Marshall's suit, ADOC had failed to complete the victim notification required by the 2021 mandatory release law.
A judge ultimately denied Marshall's suit, but ADOC is slowing the process until victims can be notified appropriately. The 96 inmates slated to be released are mostly incarcerated for victimless crimes.
ADOC did not respond to inquiries from 1819 News on how many inmates are scheduled to be released in the coming days or how many victims still require notification.
The hubbub arose due to a 2021 law that took effect on Tuesday.
In 2021, the legislature passed a bill that retroactively applied a 2015 mandatory release law to all inmates before 2015. Based on the length of an inmate's sentence, the law releases inmates between three and 12 months from the end of their sentence. The retroactive application took effect on Tuesday.
"Under the law, it says [victims] had to be notified," Ward told 1819 News. "Now there is a question in Alabama as to the success rate of the notification system that is currently under ALEA (Alabama Law Enforcement Agency)."
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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