Former guard, relative of inmate talk about low parole rates

Former guard, relative of inmate talk about low parole rates

Former guard says low parole rate makes prisons more dangerous

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —

A former corrections officer, and a relative of an Alabama prison inmate, have a lot to say about Alabama’s parole board. They're reacting to the ACLU report just released on the state's parole rate. One thing both those people point out is that the decisions being made by the parole board have a trickle-down effect that exponentially impacts more than just the inmate whose parole they're denying.

As a former corrections officer, Stacy George knows firsthand the state of Alabama prisons.

He said, “The conditions are bad because I’ve been in there and it's just a terrible situation in Alabama. And the politicians put us in, they put us in jeopardy.”

He said prisons are overcrowded partly because very few inmates are released on parole and that creates hopelessness which is a dangerous thing in prison.

George said, “You see that hopeless look and I see their characteristics change immediately, their facial features. You know, they may have been doing real well. And you see them a week after they had a parole hearing. And you can see them moving downhill, going back in a different direction.”

Halli Melton is worried about her father. He's been incarcerated for about seven years for manslaughter. He's up for parole in April.

She said, “I feel like no matter what we say or how many good examples we can provide, is it going to make any difference at all.”

And that impacts all the people waiting for him on the outside. But she also acknowledges the harm he caused and what victims’ families must also go through.

She said, “I never want to diminish that, I understand the reason my dad is incarcerated. Truthfully, in a lot of ways, I think it saved his life from the path that he was on at the time, but I also think people deserve the opportunity to have another start at life.”