A legislative committee advanced a bill Thursday that would allow state inmates to speak at parole hearings by phone or video conference for the first time.
The House Judiciary Committee approved the bill with amendments that would give victims and law enforcement officials the option to participate electronically instead of driving to Montgomery for parole hearings.
The bill was approved by the Senate without a vote and now heads to the Alabama House of Representatives for consideration in the final three days of the legislative session.
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Alabama is one of only two states that does not allow prisoners to speak at parole hearings.
“SB 312 gives incarcerated inmates the right to participate in public hearings and, more importantly, gives parole boards the right to “It gives us a new opportunity or opportunity to interrogate.”
Exterior view of the Alabama State Capitol on March 22, 2020 in Montgomery, Alabama. (Taylor Hill/Getty Images)
The approval came after an earlier disagreement over a proposal to weaken the bill by letting the parole board decide whether inmates can participate.
Wanda Miller, executive director of the victims advocacy group VOCAL, said her organization opposes the bill because it believes the current system is sufficient. She said Miller is proposing an amendment that would allow victim advocacy groups to allow victims and law enforcement officials to speak by phone or even by video conference.
Barfoot said this will make it easier for victims and law enforcement officials to attend hearings instead of “driving sometimes three hours to attend a 10- or 15-minute hearing.”
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If approved, the measure would come into effect on October 1.
