On Wednesday, lawmakers on the Joint Prison Oversight Committee had a series of tense exchanges with Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles chair Leigh Gwathney regarding the board’s guidelines for reviewing possible parolees.
Legislation to prevent the parole of individuals currently facing charges of additional crimes passes Alabama House of Representatives.
Alabama’s mandatory early-release population has a recidivism rate of 2.3 percent a little over a month since the program started, according to the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles.
State officials in Alabama rejected parole for 90% of eligible inmates last fiscal year, according to reports released by the Alabama Bureau of Pardons & Paroles (ABPP).
“I am pleased that the Board has denied Jimmy Spencer parole for the crimes for which he is currently serving two life sentences,” said AG Marshall after the Alabama Pardons and Paroles Board denied parole to career criminal Jimmy O'Neil Spencer. Spencer is accused of killing three people in Guntersville during his last parole.