Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, speaks during a debate in the Alabama House of Representatives on April 25, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. England prefiled a bill to increase oversight of the state’s parole board. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
A Tuscaloosa lawmaker is refiling a bill aimed at creating guidelines for the state parole board to follow.
HB 40 , sponsored by Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, would create a committee to update risk assessments of those incarcerated in state prisons and direct the Board of Pardons and Parole to create guidelines when considering parole.
The move comes amid a years-long controversy over declining parole rates, which fell to 7% last year . Parole rates have gone up to between 20 and 30% this year, according to England, but with ongoing violence in state prisons, lawmakers from both parties have discussed safety and overcrowding in public forums, such as the Contract Review Committee .
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