A legislative committee on Thursday advanced a bill to allow state inmates, for the first time, to speak by phone or video conference at their parole hearings.
The House Judiciary Committee has passed a bill, including an amendment that allows victims and law enforcement officials to participate in parole hearings electronically, reducing the need for them to travel to Montgomery. This bill, which previously gained unanimous approval in the Senate, now proceeds to the Alabama House of Representatives for further consideration in the final three days of the legislative session.
Alabama is one of two states that do not allow inmates to speak at parole hearings.
“SB 312 gives the incarcerated inmate the ability to participate in the hearing and more importantly, it gives the Parole Board another opportunity or an opportunity to question that inmate,” Republican Sen. Will Barfoot, the bill sponsor, said.
The approval came after earlier disagreements over a proposal that would have weakened the bill by letting the Parole Board decide whether inmates could participate.
Wanda Miller, the executive director of VOCAL, a victim advocacy group, stated that her organization opposes the bill, arguing that the existing system works well enough. However, Miller noted that victim advocacy groups proposed an amendment permitting victims and law enforcement officials to participate in parole hearings via phone or video conference.
Senator Barfoot, who supports the bill, explained that the amendment would simplify the process for victims and law enforcement officials, saving them from long drives—sometimes up to three hours—for brief 10- to 15-minute hearings.
