By Paul Demarco
Former Alabama Attorney General Charlie Graddick has only been on the job as the new director of the Alabama State Board of Pardons and Paroles for a couple of weeks, but he is already making significant changes.
Right out the gate he put on hold over a hundred parole hearings because they did not meet new legal notice requirements for crime victims, victims families and witnesses. The Board had months to prepare for the changes and Graddick did not believe the Board would be in compliance with the law.
Secondly, he has placed three parole board officials on paid leave for job performance problems.
Paul DeMarco
The board has made negative headlines for allowing violent felons out of jail after only short stints in prison. In 2017, a felon was improperly paroled and then later arrested for a triple murder in Guntersville.
The problems at the parole board led the Governor and Attorney General to recommend legislation to reform the way prisoners are released by the board.
Governor Kay Ivey appointed Graddick to come in to implement the new state law to change the way the board operated.
The Board has rightly earned the scorn of state prosecutors and advocates for crime victims for the way it has operated in the past.
Kudos to the Governor and Graddick for doing something the parole board had not made a priority – putting victims’ rights first.
Paul DeMarco is a former member of the Alabama House of Representatives.
