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The Bureau of Land Management updates a proposed Western Solar Plan to the delight of wildlife advocates, grant funding helps New York schools take part in National Farm to School Month, and children's advocates observe "TEN-4 Day" to raise awareness of child abuse.

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Biden voices concerns over Israeli strikes on Iran, Special Counsel Jack Smith details Trump's pre-January 6 pressure on Pence, Indiana's voter registration draws scrutiny, and a poll shows politics too hot to talk about for half of Wisconsinites.

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Cheap milk comes at a cost for residents of Washington's Lower Yakima Valley, Indigenous language learning is promoted in Wisconsin as experts warn half the world's languages face extinction, and Montana's public lands are going to the dogs!

Advocating for restorative justice, 'second-chance' policies in parole system

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Friday, May 24, 2024   

Fewer than 8% of people in Alabama prisons are granted parole when they apply for it.

Criminal justice experts got together for a discussion of how to improve parole systems and give more people a chance at rehabilitation. The panel focused on the benefits of what's known as "restorative justice."

Lisa Daniels, executive director of the Darren B. Easterling Center for Restorative Practices, said that, in part, it means looking beyond the crime when evaluating a person's rehabilitation potential, especially after many years behind bars.

"But we want to look at it as a gauge," she said, "to say, 'OK, are they that person? Or how far removed are they from being that person that committed that crime - 20, 30, 40 years ago?'"

Daniels is a former parole commissioner in Illinois whose life was touched by violent crime when her son was shot and killed. She said she believes it's important to consider people's growth throughout their sentence, rather than only the traditional factors used to determine eligibility for parole.

Outside of parole, those incarcerated in Alabama have few opportunities for redemption. In the last legislative session, House Bill 29 would have given some people serving a life sentence a chance to have their convictions reviewed, but it didn't make it to the Senate floor.

"We are not advocates of abolishing any form or mechanism that could potentially lead to release," said panelist Anthony Muhammad, released after nearly 30 years in prison, now works with the ACLU of Maryland and the Maryland Parole Partnership, advocating for second-chance laws and parole as valuable tools in the system. "So, while there are challenges, absolutely we are not in favor of abolishing, but doing the necessary work that it takes to reform and rehabilitate the system."

The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles held 22 parole hearings at its last meeting May 16. It granted four parole requests and denied 18.


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