I’ve read Mr. Fox’s writing through the Prison Journalism Project and other outlets on a number of occasions. His piece here is compelling and skillfully written, reflecting a profound need in Alabama along with a clear demonstration of the humanity and talent often found in our prisons.
Congratulations and thank you to both Mr. Fox and Beth Shelburne for sharing this.
Wonderful piece. Thank you for shining the light on this issue. I agree with everything you propose and was shocked to learn how the aging prison population has grown and how awful the parole situation is.
I live in Ashford, Alabama, a small town 8 miles east of Dothan, in the extreme southeastern portion of the state. I believe non-violent criminals over the age of 60 who have served a majority of their sentence should certainly be reviewed for parole more often than 5 years. There should also be some kind of scale or ranking (maybe their is) as to how close they were to being paroled. In other words, what is the criteria and how close were they to meeting it. An inmate that was was deemed 90% ready to be paroled should certainly have his/her case re-visited before someone that was deemed only 50% ready to engage with society once again.
Many nonviolent offenses are committed under the influence of alcohol or other other drugs, making the crime more about addiction than the obvious criminal behavior.
I appreciate your thoughts and ideas. There is a scale that you imagined, but unfortunately the parole board ignores it. Alabama parole guidelines include a risk assessment developed by criminologists that includes an interview with the parole candidate (done at the prison by a parole officer), a review of their records (both during prison and before) and an expert report submitted by this officer to the parole board either recommending the individual for parole, or saying they aren't ready. The percentage of cases in which parole is recommended is 80 percent, but the board is only granting parole in 24 percent of cases (this is an improvement from the low of 8 percent in 2023)- The board has complete discretion and they do not have to follow the recommendations of their own parole officers, and unfortunately they don't.
Sickening. Continue to keep the spotlight on this Alabama abomination.
As always, thank you from all of us!
I’ve read Mr. Fox’s writing through the Prison Journalism Project and other outlets on a number of occasions. His piece here is compelling and skillfully written, reflecting a profound need in Alabama along with a clear demonstration of the humanity and talent often found in our prisons.
Congratulations and thank you to both Mr. Fox and Beth Shelburne for sharing this.
Love the guest post, thank you for publishing!
Wonderful piece. Thank you for shining the light on this issue. I agree with everything you propose and was shocked to learn how the aging prison population has grown and how awful the parole situation is.
I live in Ashford, Alabama, a small town 8 miles east of Dothan, in the extreme southeastern portion of the state. I believe non-violent criminals over the age of 60 who have served a majority of their sentence should certainly be reviewed for parole more often than 5 years. There should also be some kind of scale or ranking (maybe their is) as to how close they were to being paroled. In other words, what is the criteria and how close were they to meeting it. An inmate that was was deemed 90% ready to be paroled should certainly have his/her case re-visited before someone that was deemed only 50% ready to engage with society once again.
Many nonviolent offenses are committed under the influence of alcohol or other other drugs, making the crime more about addiction than the obvious criminal behavior.
I appreciate your thoughts and ideas. There is a scale that you imagined, but unfortunately the parole board ignores it. Alabama parole guidelines include a risk assessment developed by criminologists that includes an interview with the parole candidate (done at the prison by a parole officer), a review of their records (both during prison and before) and an expert report submitted by this officer to the parole board either recommending the individual for parole, or saying they aren't ready. The percentage of cases in which parole is recommended is 80 percent, but the board is only granting parole in 24 percent of cases (this is an improvement from the low of 8 percent in 2023)- The board has complete discretion and they do not have to follow the recommendations of their own parole officers, and unfortunately they don't.
Just curious Beth, do you live in Alabama?
Yes, I live in Birmingham.
Tragic.