Alabama Paroles Reach Historic Lows During Pandemic

LARGEST DROP SEEN AT MINIMUM-SECURITY PRISONS

BY BETH SHELBURNE, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, CAMPAIGN FOR SMART JUSTICE

An analysis of data on prison releases from the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) reveals a sharp decline in releases on parole during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the state’s unconstitutional prison overcrowding and the elevated risk of infection and death that incarcerated populations face from coronavirus. 

The decline in paroles is due to an unprecedented increase in decisions to deny parole by Alabama’s parole board, chaired by former prosecutor Leigh Gwathney, appointed by Governor Kay Ivey in September 2019. 

The largest drop in releases is happening at minimum-security prisons. This is particularly troubling given that the primary purpose of ADOC’s work centers and work releases are to “assist selected inmates in preparing for release and to aid in making the transition from a structured institutional environment back to the community,” according to ADOC’s administrative regulations.  

In the last five years, paroles from work centers fell 93 percent and paroles from work releases fell 88 percent. Comparatively, in the last five years paroles from close security prisons fell 77 percent and paroles from medium security prisons fell 83 percent. 

A sharp decline in parole grants has occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Between March 2020 and June 2021, the most recent monthly data available, releases on parole from all of ADOC’s prisons have fallen. An analysis of release data shows parole releases fell to a monthly low of five people or less from all four facility security-levels during the pandemic. 

A request for comment on these findings was submitted to board chair Leigh Gwathney through the agency’s communications director, but she did not respond. 

In December 2020, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed suit against Alabama due to the state’s lack of action addressing unconstitutional overcrowding in its prisons. The parole board demonstrates willful defiance of the ban on cruel and unusual punishment by preventing the vast majority of parole-eligible Alabamians from being released on parole. We urge Alabama lawmakers to address this crisis at the parole board as soon as possible. 

Beth Shelburne is an investigative reporter for the Campaign for Smart Justice with the ACLU of Alabama. For investigative reporting on Alabama’s prison and pardons & paroles systems, follow her on Twitter at @bshelburne.

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