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Compounding Problems:
Compounding Problems:
Alabama's overcrowded prisons are made worse by the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles. The bureau's grant rate has plummeted from a high of 55% in 2017 to a low of just 8% in 2023. The latest numbers show that the grant rate currently sits at 23%, far below the bureau's own guidelines. These denials extend to non-violent offenders.
No Oversight:
No Oversight:
The Parole Board has absolute discretion to act with impunity, and they exercise this authority in an arbitrary and capricious manner. They don't even follow the guidelines that they set for themselves. The Parole Board ignores their own guidelines upwards of 70% of the time. This results in increased incarceration costs being passed on to Alabama tax payers, and prevents rehabilitated individuals from rejoining society.
An Easy Fix:
An Easy Fix:
House Bill 40 was introduced in the spring 2025 legislative session and provides an elegant solution to the Parole Board's refusal to follow their own guidelines. HB40 provides a right to appeal a denial of parole that violates the Parole Board's rules to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals. This will allow elected to make a final determination on parole board decisions that fall otuside of their guidelines rather than political appointments who are not beholding to the will of the people.
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