One year after a law expanded parole eligibility to more people incarcerated in Mississippi prisons, the states parole grant rate has declined by more than a third, a sign criminal justice reform advocates say shows the law isnt being fully implemented. But with Reeves new board chairman, a former Chevron executive he appointed in January, in charge, that trend has reversed itself. We want them to get skills and be successful.. Go fix it.. The parole board has also received letters from groups of lawmakers, the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police, as well as the Mississippi Sheriffs' Association urging members to reverse the decision. Parole Board Member Betty Lou Jones, of Meridian, owes $47,321 for the same instances. By November 2021, the parole grant rate reached a high of 93% and the board held over 1,000 parole hearings, according to numbers from the Mississippi Department of Corrections obtained by Mississippi Today. Fifty dollars goes into the Community Service Revolving Fund at the state treasury to fund the supervision program, $3 goes to the Crime Victims' Compensation . Gene Bell, Berts younger brother, told Mississippi Today that Frederick Bell wont be reconsidered for parole for two years. The work includes reviewing and collecting files and data, participating in classification decisions, providing information on inmates to authorized persons, and completing Risk Matrix information on inmates. He has never had the community support he does now. Capital offenses, murder, drug trafficking, sex crimes and being a habitual offender are among the crimes in the state that are not eligible for parole. He also served as chairman of the Public Procurement Board. Photo courtesy Marlow Stewart. Code Section 47-7-5 (2) OCCU: 9146 Pay Grade: MS15 Parole Board Chairman Serves as Chairman of the State Parole Board. The number of people coming out should increase.. .540 Powers of department. .490 Repealed, 1960. Code Ann. We're dedicated to keeping Mississippians informed with our thorough reporting. Citizenship. The five members of Mississippi's Parole . Code Section 47-7-5 (2), One-Pager: State of the Workforce and Project SEC, Dec. 2022: Agency Head Maximum Salaries and Elected Official Recommendations CY 2023, Dec 2021: Recruitment and Selection Training for HR Staff, Dec. 2021: Additional Revisions to the Variable Compensation Plan, Dec. 2021: Revisions to the State Employee Handbook and Policy and Procedures Manual, Oct. 2021: Variable Compensation Plan based on the implementation of Project SEC2, Sept. 2021: Pay Grades, Classification Assignments, and Preliminary Implementation Projections, Sept. 2021: Overview of the State Workforce and Project SEC Overview, Video 3: PDQ for Mississippi State Employees. Tate Reeves signed the Mississippi Earned Parole Eligibility Act in April 2021, he called it a measured approach to (second) chances and said it would be a net positive for (Mississippi) with proper implementation. .530 Repealed, 1978. For instance, he said he knew an inmate was serious about leaving gangs behind when the inmate revealed he was being kept in close custody because they want to kill me, because Im telling the young ones to not get involved in that mess.. PEER found that nearly half of offenders eligible for parole had Parole Board hearings were untimely, complaining that one-fourth of the offenders reviewed had hearings more than 30 days before their parole eligibility date. (AP) Mississippi is paroling fewer inmates now than it did before expanding parole eligibility in 2021. My thirty years of public service in law enforcement, with the courts, and on the parole board have provided me the opportunity to make a difference in many peoples lives, Pickett said in a letter. Parole Board members say the biggest misconception is that prisoners will be . When Gov. The work includes reviewing and collecting files and data and providing information on inmates to authorized persons, Typically requires a High School Diploma and 0-4 years of related experience. .510 Information obtained by probation or parole officer to be privileged -- Exception. 1:16 JACKSON, Miss. The State Parole Board is composed of five members. A brief biography of the Board of Parole members can be found here . In the years since, reforms and an aggressive Parole Board, headed by a law enforcement official, reduced the number of inmates to the lowest level in two decades. Stewart will replace Nehemiah Flowers, who recently announced his retirement effective October 31, 2021. What the Parole Board is doing undermines all that work, which helps to keep our communities safe.. If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using. Offenders who committed crimes prior to July 1, 1995 are generally eligible for Mississippi parole after serving 25% of their sentences. Both White and PEER criticized the travel expenses of Parole Board member Betty Lou Jones, who received more than $20,000 in travel reimbursements. | 2022. We are poor. May train and mentor lower level parole staff. September 29, 2022, 5:44am. Sen. Angela Burks Hill, R-Picayune, had questioned whether the Parole Board followed state law, which says notification must go in a newspaper published or circulated in the county where the crime was committed. FWD.us, a criminal justice and immigration reform group, supported SB 2795. In July, the Parole Board sent a letter to Gene Bell about its decision to parole Frederick Bell because members found he had been rehabilitated. Pickett, a veteran law enforcement officer, began his career in 1996 as a deputy to Hinds County Sheriff Malcolm McMillin. Pre-release Programs prepare offenders for integration into society. After then-Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps was indicted in 2014 for receiving bribes from prison contracts, Reeves appointed Belk to the Contracts Review Board to make sure all contracts were proper. Before joining Mississippi Today, she was a reporter for the Clarion Ledger and newspapers in Massachusetts. The state Parole Board chairman told lawmakers the board is more closely examining inmates . We're dedicated to keeping Mississippians informed with our thorough reporting. FWD.us, a nonprofit advocacy group founded by technology and business executives, also prodded Mississippi officials to expand parole eligibility. There are eight distinctly different categories in which a. Tate Reeves to ask that Frederick Bells parole be denied. "It gives you an opportunity to help the people of Mississippi. Belk lives in Vancleave and has previously served on multiple boards in the state, including the Jackson County Civil Service Commission and the Singing River Hospital System Board of Trustees. Its not the job of the Parole Board to decide whether they agree with the Legislature [on parole eligibility]. This story was produced by the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting, a nonprofit news organization that is exposing wrongdoing, educating and empowering Mississippians, and raising up the next generation of investigative reporters. The Board reviews cases and develops plans, stipulations, conditions and terms for release or integration for each offender. Jeffrey Belk told a legislative committee the board is not seeking to release a . November 30, 2022. Once the law was implemented, results were encouraging; the parole grant rate climbed and the prison population rate declined to its lowest point in more than 20 years, the group said. 0:57. Russ Latino, president of the conservative-leaning Empower Mississippi, which backed the law, told MCIR, We are monitoring the Parole Board, and we are concerned with the brakes that are seemingly being applied., Amanda Hamilton cant understand why her son, Shelby Wilson, was denied parole after he violated probation from his felony prescription drug conviction. Mississippi State Parole Board. Most people couldnt afford it, he said. Pay Grade: MS10. If this current trend continues, that number would top 23,000 next year. Respectfully, I feel like you guys have made an error in judgment, she wrote. Now that theyre parole eligible, just because they missed their first parole eligibility date, doesnt mean theyre going to miss their next one if they start taking advantage of (programs), Belk said. Currently, the State of Mississippi has a recidivism rate of more than 30%. Life sentences, convicted habitual offenders, offenders of sex crimes, and armed robbery, armed carjacking or attempted armed robbery convicts are not eligible for mandatory parole on the 85% law. The study found that the Mississippi Earned Parole Eligibility Act will save at least $584 million with a "low parole grant rate" or as much as $988 million over a 30-year-period with a "moderate parole grant rate." Tate Reeves, who recently bragged about the significant reduction in inmates at Parchman, drew widespread praise last year when he signed a bipartisan bill that could extend parole eligibility to 3,000 more inmates. People who have reached the age of 60 and served at least 10 years of their sentence for a parole-eligible crime can also receive it. Oversees the review of inmates eligible for parole. Please help me make sense of this system.. Serves as a member on the State Parole Board. This request will be granted at the discretion of the corrections agent, sometimes with advice from the Mississippi Parole Board. Prisons and Prisoners; Probation and Parole MS ST Section 47-7-5. Photo courtesy of Crossroads Ministries. Judkins, of FWD.us, said less opportunities for parole and a growing prison population dont just hurt people who are incarcerated. We didnt have a lawyer.. On April 1, 22 inmates graduated from the program, and a second class is now under way, said corrections spokesperson Grace Simmons. (WJTV) On Friday, Mississippi State Parole Board Chairman Steven Pickett announced his retirement from public service, effective December 31, 2021. She had served time before for a pair of violent felonies. We do not sell or share your information with anyone. The Mississippi Parole Board consists of four regular Board members and a chairman. Although the hospital settled the retirees class-action lawsuit, other lawsuits remain against the accounting firm and the retirement plan administrator. Jackson lawyer Robert G. Parrish has handled dozens of parole cases over the last 16 years. OCCU:9144 See Miss. JACKSON, Miss. Mississippi parole, often called earned release supervision, is granted based on many contributing factors. With the exception of Jones, all have joined the board within the past year. Typically requires a High School Diploma and 0-4 years of related experience. We talked to BestReviews nutrition expert Molly Bremer about how to plan meals that are healthy, satisfying and a joy to eat. It raises some concerns, he said. Typically requires a Bachelors Degree and 4-6 years of work experience. Belk said the board has 15 to 20 parole hearings scheduled for Wednesday. In 2021, the Parole Board held an average of 870 hearings each month, paroling 74% of those considered. Information you can trust. In 2015, Belk began serving as president of the board, which tried to salvage the pension system and keep the hospital open. Having a parole hearing every six months for someone who wasnt interested in improving themselves gave false hope to those inmates, Belk said. Our clients had never been denied release once they obtained parole eligibility, he said. by Mina Corpuz, Mississippi Today September 19, 2022, This and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
. Parole provides incarcerated people the opportunity to make the case for their release at a hearing before the Parole Board after serving a portion of their sentence in prison. The Board works in conjunction with many other state agencies and agents, including parole officers. Typically requires a Bachelors Degree and 3-5 years of related experience. Mississippi is a world leader in incarceration. Similar to most other Parole Boards, the Mississippi Parole Board is responsible for granting discretionary paroles to inmates convicted prior to the Truth in Sentencing law. Ive seen folks with money get off for way more. On direct appeal, the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence. Under SB 2795, those convicted of nonviolent crimes and non habitual drug offenses committed after June 30, 1995 must serve either 25% of their sentence or 10 years before becoming parole eligible. Our stories may appear on pages with ads, but not ads specifically sold against our stories. Facebook. We're dedicated to keeping Mississippians informed with our thorough reporting. Supervisory work responsible for a group of subordinates in a correctional facility or as part of statewide parole program involving the compilation and computation of parole information on inmates. The group's Mississippi director, Alesha Judkins, said in a statement Thursday that the . Typically requires a Bachelors Degree and 4-6 years of work experience. code ann.47-7-3, has been amended many times to change and add to the statue. An inmate's maximum discharge date is defined as the date in which an offender will have served the entire length of his indeterminate sentence. PEER criticized the board for failing to maintain minutes documenting parole decisions. I worked for 24 years at Chevron as a project procurement manager, he said. After 30 years in prison, she still hasn't been subject to any disciplinary action. But MPB has a list of reasons it has found to deny her parole. You cant edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style. TD. In addition to the chairman, there are four other members of the Mississippi State Parole Board: Marlow Stewart, James Cooper, Anthony Smith and Betty Lou Jones. The Chairman of the Parole Board, for example, together with the Director of Offender Services, will comprise a joint placement committee and may contribute to an inmate being placed into the Intensive Supervision Program, commonly called house arrest. by Mina Corpuz, Mississippi Today October 26, 2022, This and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
. To republish online, simply click the button, copy the html code and paste into your Content Management System (CMS). As a result, about 5,700 additional people are expected to become parole eligible within the next five years, according to an estimate in the Corrections and Criminal Justice Oversight Task Forces January report. Belk said the board will give the person a chance to clear up any issues to be able to continue on parole. Since March, the board has paroled 29% of those considered with the number of hearings falling to 633 in July. Photo courtesy of MDOC, Jones said Mississippi already has a terrible thicket of sentencing laws one that permits juveniles to be sentenced to life without parole and another that is one of the most unforgiving habitual offender arrangements in the world.. LISTEN HERE 00:00 01:36 A study by the Mississippi Legislative PEER Committee reports one member of the state parole board was reimbursed more than $20,000 in 2020, for commuting to Jackson. 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