Caleb Taylor | 07.18.25 Article courtesy of: 1819 News Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles amends parole guidelines, rejects victims’ rights group proposals
The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles adopted new amended parole guidelines at a meeting on Thursday.
The parole guidelines are a tool that provides a baseline score used by the board to evaluate an offender’s fitness for parole. Guidelines are not mandatory and do not provide a definitive picture of an offender’s overall parole readiness.
“However, they complement other tools used by the Board, including the inmate file, which contains information on static and dynamic risk factors, individual factors and stakeholder input,” an Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles spokesperson said in a statement on Friday. “The Board also considers an offender’s social and criminal history along with testimony provided at the parole hearing as it applies professional judgement to exercise its discretion to determine parole readiness. The Board’s adoption of the amended parole guidelines is the first revision to the original version and follows the review required by Alabama law that mandates review of the guidelines every three years. However, Alabama law does not necessitate that the reviews result in revisions. The Board last considered revising the guidelines in February 2024 but voted to make no changes at that time.”
In the revised guidelines, the board made a small increase to the weight of the severity of an offender’s crime to better capture offenses that are classified as sexual and/or violent crimes, according to the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles.
“More emphasis was placed on multiple violent disciplinaries while in Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) custody. Credit is given to offenders who complete higher education, obtain a GED or finish a trade school program while in ADOC custody. For each applicant’s final scoring on the Board’s guidelines, a neutral category was added to account for cases that are evenly balanced. A neutral baseline score calls for the Board’s decision to be guided by other factors in its comprehensive review of the inmate’s file and information provided at the time of the hearing,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “As part of its updated guidelines, the Board will begin a process to allow prerecorded video submissions from parole applicants during hearings – another tool the Board may use in its considerations. The video complements an inmate’s Institutional Parole Officer’s (IPO) Report, which is compiled by an IPO prior to a parole hearing. That file consists of information obtained during offender interviews and other relevant data gathered from information from the ADOC that can impact parole fitness. The Board then weighs this file with stakeholder input, the guideline baseline score and any testimony during the hearing.”
The spokesperson continued, “Board guidelines evolve over the years. During the most recent guideline evaluation process, the Bureau of Pardons and Paroles established a review committee to support the Board in analyzing parole data and its relationship to the revised guidelines. The committee will meet every three months to assess the guidelines and will provide insights to the Board during its next review period.”
Wanda Miller, executive director of Victims of Crime and Leniency (VOCAL) offered a mixed reaction to the move by the board in a statement to 1819 News on Friday.
“A few weeks ago when we reviewed the proposed Parole Guidelines, we were pleased to see a number of revisions that would more accurately score whether an inmate’s early release would be appropriate.”
“However, during the open-comment period, victim advocates offered a few very reasonable suggestions — all of which were rejected this week when the final Guidelines were issued,” Miller said. “We believe it’s appropriate for an inmate’s ‘score’ to factor in any prior convictions, the offender’s disciplinary problems in prison beyond a mere 12 months, and what portion of the inmate’s sentence has actually been completed — but the Board rejected our proposals. Fortunately, the Parole Board also rejected many of the outlandish suggestions from pro-criminal advocates who are primarily interested in releasing more violent felons into our communities.”
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
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