From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
MONTGOMERY — Attorney General Steve Marshall announced his support of legislation to reform the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles. The legislation was proposed by the Attorney General’s Office and is sponsored by Senator Cam Ward and Representative Connie Rowe.
“In January 2018, Jimmy O’Neal Spencer, a violent offender sentenced to life imprisonment, was released from prison after being recklessly and wrongfully paroled by the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles,” said Marshall. “Months later, Spencer brutally murdered two women and a seven-year-old boy in their homes. This tragic failure of our justice system should have never happened — and cannot ever be allowed to happen again.”
According to Marshall, the Attorney General’s Office has been working with Governor Kay Ivey to prepare a comprehensive proposal whose goal is to prioritize public safety within the Alabama parole system. Marshall believes changes to the law are critical to ensuring public safety.
“Under the reform legislation sponsored by Senator Ward and Representative Rowe, the process by which the Governor appoints Board members would be made more in line with the Governor’s standing appointment authority for other boards, with Senate confirmation,” said Marshall. “The legislation creates the position of ‘Director of Pardons and Paroles’ who would serve as the agency head, while the Board would retain its independent judicial function of granting or denying parole and issuing pardons. The legislation codifies the Board’s existing policies on parole consideration dates. The bill also strengthens the Board’s duty to provide notice to victims. These changes are designed to increase accountability, set clear parameters, and make certain that no prisoner who is a threat to public safety can slip through the cracks.”
According to Marshall, the proposed legislation will help to restore accountability to the Pardons and Parole Board.