Report: Alabama parole rates declined in fiscal year 2026

Alabama’s parole rates fell this year after rising in 2025, according to a report released last month.

The ACLU of Alabama’s Parole Watch reported that the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles granted parole to about 19% of parole applicants for fiscal year 2026, which ended on Sept. 30. That was down from 23% in 2025.

“We did see a rise in the parole grant rate, but it went back down, so that was disappointing to us,” said Nichelle Cunningham, a paralegal with the ACLU of Alabama who attends the parole hearings. “I do think the board dynamic has changed. I do not disagree with that. I do think this board is more fair, but the numbers are not reflecting that.”

In an Oct. 27 statement, the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles did not dispute the report’s estimates on parole grant percentages, but said the number of people paroled overall had increased.

“Overall, 613 inmates were granted parole in FY 26 — a 4% increase from FY 25 and an 8% increase from FY 24,” the parole board said.

It also defended its parole decisions by saying it is following the guidelines.

“The Board maintains a concurrence rate, or the percentage of cases where the Board’s decision matched that of the suggested outcome from the parole guidelines, above 85 percent for FY 26,” the parole board said in its statement.

Groups such as the ACLU of Alabama have become concerned with the low parole rate for the past several years. Following changes to the parole process in 2019, parole grants fell from 55% in 2017 to 8% in 2023. Several criminal justice reform advocacy groups criticized former parole board chair Leigh Gwathney, appointed in September 2019, for the drop.

At a Joint Prison Oversight Committee meeting in October 2024, Gwathney could not answer pointed questions she was asked by lawmakers on the committee about why the conformance rate, the frequency that the parole board decisions match the recommendations from the parole guidelines, was only about 25%.

Ivey appointed Hal Nash, the chief corrections deputy for Jackson County, in July 2025 to replace Gwathney after her term had expired. Parole rates increased to about 30% for the three months after he was appointed to the parole board, but then decreased.

The report also said that parole decisions are nearly identical for people assessed to be low risk to commit another crime versus those considered a moderate risk.

The report said low-risk individuals were paroled at 26.1% in 2025 while the grant rate for those considered moderate risk was 25.2% in 2025, according to the ACLU report.

The report also pointed to a racial disparity in the parole grant rates. In 2026, white applicants were granted parole 20.9% of the time, while Black applicants received it in 18.4% of cases. In 2025, white applicants received parole 24.2% of the time while Black applicants were granted parole 20.3% of the time. The disparity has declined from 2021 when the ratio of whites who were paroled to Black applicants who were paroled was 2.5. It was 1.1 in 2026.

To address the disparities, the ACLU of Alabama indicated in its report that it wants lawmakers to pass a bill to allow applicants to participate virtually in their parole hearings.

The parole board currently only hears from the family and supporters of applicants who get to speak two minutes on their behalf. Those who typically oppose parole, such as the Alabama Attorney General’s Office and Victims of Crime and Leniency, also get two minutes to present their case.

“That starts with basic reforms, like allowing incarcerated individuals to speak for themselves at their own hearings. Legislation allowing this practice was approved by lawmakers last session but was killed by pocket veto,” said Alison Mollman, legal director for the ACLU of Alabama, in a statement that accompanied the report. “We are hopeful lawmakers and other stakeholders will consider implementing virtual participation options again next session.”

A message was sent to the Alabama Attorney General’s Office seeking comment.  Wanda Miller, executive director of VOCAL, said in an interview on Monday that “we do protest parole on behalf of the victims, the victims of these inmates.”

Miller said the organization only protests paroles for violent offenders where there is a victim or where another person is harmed, and does not consider the risk assessment.

“I don’t really put those in a category of low risk or high risk,” Miller said. “That is something the parole board does. I can’t really speak to how they make those decisions.”

The report referred to SB 157, sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot in 2025, that would allow parole applicants to participate in their parole hearings. He then sponsored SB 240, largely the same bill, in 2026, but Ivey introduced an executive amendment that lawmakers did not consider, which doomed the bill.