SB47 Alabama 2011 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Cam Ward

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2011

Title

Pardons and Paroles Board, notification of victims, procedures changed, supplying contact information for notification, victims authorized to choose not to be notified, Implementation Task Force established for statewide automated victim notification system, Sec. 15-22-36.2 added; Secs. 15-22-23, 15-22-36 am'd. (2011-20727)

Summary

SB47 broadens victim notification for pardons and paroles, standardizes how notices are given, and creates a statewide automated system with an Implementation Task Force to oversee it.

What This Bill Does

It requires the Pardons and Paroles Board to give at least 30 days notice to certain officials before considering pardons or paroles, and to hold hearings in open meetings with detailed notice. It lets victims or their representatives opt out of notification and ensures victim information is entered into an automated victim notification system, with data entered by pre-sentence investigators. It creates an Implementation Task Force to oversee the statewide system, public education, and compliance, with a sunset date of December 31, 2015, and it becomes effective January 1, 2012.

Who It Affects

• Victims and their representatives: gain expanded notification rights, can opt out of notices, and have their information stored in the statewide automated notification system for future alerts.
• State agencies and officials involved in pardons and paroles (Board of Pardons and Paroles, prosecutors, police, sheriffs, Department of Corrections, Crime Victims Compensation Commission, Attorney General): must follow enhanced notice procedures, maintain victim data in the system, and participate in implementing and overseeing the automated notification system.

Key Provisions

• Amends 15-22-23 and 15-22-36 to require at least 30 days' notice to specified officials before pardons/paroles actions and to hold hearings in open public meetings with detailed notice content.
• Notice must include: prisoner name, crime, sentence, court, sentence date, time served, minimum release date, action to be considered, meeting date/time/place, and the right to present views.
• Allows victims or their representatives to appear or submit views and to request not to be notified; once they opt out, the board must stop notices unless they later request future notices.
• Requires victim and other individuals' information to be entered into the automated victim notification system; pre-sentence investigators must register the most recent victim information before sentencing; updates are required in homicide cases and for immediate family or guardians if applicable.
• For certain offenses (including Class A felonies and specific violent or sexual offenses), the board cannot act until at least 30 days' notice to the named officials and the Crime Victims Compensation Commission; if notice or information is not provided, action is not restricted for other offenses.
• Adds 15-22-36.2, creating the Implementation Task Force to guide the statewide automated victim notification system, with members from victims' rights groups, the Board, Corrections, Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center, Crime Victims Compensation Commission, District Attorneys Association, and the Attorney General; the task force oversees development, integration, and public education, meets regularly, and dissolves on December 31, 2015.
• The Board of Pardons and Paroles is given enforcement authority to carry out the act, and the act becomes effective January 1, 2012.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 25, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Pardons and Paroles Board