Ala. Code § 15-22-36 (1975) Authority to Grant Pardons and Paroles, Remit Fines and Forfeitures, Etc.; Notice of Board Action

• Library: Alabama Statutes
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current with legislation from the 2023 Regular and Special Sessions.
• Year: 2023
• Citation: Ala. Code § 15-22-36 (1975)

(a) In all cases, except treason and impeachment and cases in which sentence of death is imposed and not commuted, as is provided by law, the Board of Pardons and Paroles, after conviction and not otherwise, may grant pardons and paroles and remit fines and forfeitures.

(b) Each member of the Board of Pardons and Paroles favoring a pardon, parole, remission of a fine or forfeiture, or restoration of civil and political rights shall enter in the file his or her reasons in detail, which entry and the order shall be public records, but all other portions of the file shall be privileged.

(c) No pardon shall relieve one from civil and political disabilities unless specifically expressed in the pardon. No pardon shall be granted unless the prisoner has successfully completed at least three years of permanent parole or until the expiration of his or her sentence if his or her sentence was for less than three years. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a pardon based on innocence may be granted upon the unanimous affirmative vote of the board following receipt and filing of clear proof of his or her innocence of the crime for which he or she was convicted and the written approval of the judge who tried the case or district attorney or with the written approval of a circuit judge in the circuit where he or she was convicted if the judge who tried his or her case is dead or no longer serving.

(d) The Board of Pardons and Paroles shall have no power to grant a pardon, order a parole, remit a fine or forfeiture, or restore civil and political rights until 30 days' notice that the prisoner is being considered has been given by the board to the Attorney General, the judge who presided over the case, the district attorney who tried the subject's case, the chief of police in the municipality in which the crime occurred, if the crime was committed in an incorporated area with a police department, and to the sheriff of the county where convicted, and to the same officials of the county where the crime occurred if different from the county of conviction; provided, however, that if they are dead or not serving, the notice shall be given to the district attorney, incumbent sheriff, and one of the judges of the circuit in which the subject was convicted. The board also shall be required to provide the same notice to the Crime Victims Compensation Commission.

(e)

(1) If a victim, victim's representative, or any other interested individual has provided a preferred method of communication to the board, at least 45 days prior to the board's actions, the board may not approve or order a parole, pardon, remission of fine or forfeiture, restoration of civil and political rights, furlough, leave, or early release of a prisoner, unless a 30 days' written notice of the board's action to be considered has been provided to the victim named in the indictment, the victim's representative, or any other interested individuals.