HB400 Alabama 2011 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Randy WoodRepresentative

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2011

Title

Pardons and Paroles Board, requirement for unanimous affirmative vote to grant parole to a prisoner who has not served certain amount of sentence, eliminated, Sec. 15-22-28 am'd.

Summary

HB400 would remove the requirement that the Pardons and Paroles Board must vote unanimously to parole prisoners who have not yet served the minimum time.

What This Bill Does

It deletes the rule that a prisoner who has not served at least one third or 10 years must get a unanimous board vote to be paroled. Parole could then be granted by a simple majority vote, removing the unanimous threshold for those under the minimum. The rest of the parole process stays the same, with parole still decided by a majority vote and the board continuing to assess eligibility and other conditions.

Who It Affects

• Prisoners who have not served the minimum time (one-third or 10 years, whichever is less) would be eligible for parole by majority vote rather than needing unanimous approval.
• The Board of Pardons and Paroles would change how it votes on parole decisions, no longer required to use a unanimous vote in these cases.

Key Provisions

• Deletes the clause in §15-22-28 that requires unanimous affirmative vote of the board for parole for prisoners who have not served the minimum time.
• Keeps the overall majority-vote requirement for parole, effectively broadening parole eligibility by removing the unanimous-vote barrier for those under the minimum service threshold.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Pardons and Paroles Board