NCJ Number
121464
Date Published
1989
Length
10 pages
Annotation
In April 1989, the Governor of Georgia was forced by a class-action suit brought by the Georgia Legal Services to order emergency releases from the State's correctional facilities in order to redress the overcrowding situation of 110 percent of maximum operating capacity.
Abstract
The Board of Pardons and Paroles was authorized to release those convicted of property damage, habitual traffic violations, forgery, theft, burglary, revoked parole and probation, and low-level drug offenses. In addition, nearly 3000 prison beds were brought on line. In contrast, the Board voted to parole a substantially lower percentage of serious offenders (45 percent in 1988 versus 72 percent in 1984). Two Parole Board-operated residential centers opened, in Atlanta and Georgia. The Board is still seeking funding for transitional and detention centers for parolees with alcohol and drug problems. The emergency release program has strained the capabilities of the Board's Central Operations and Field Operations Divisions; to keep up with the caseload, the Board has been allocated over 200 new personnel in fiscal years 1989 and 1990. The increasing number of prisoners infected with the AIDS virus has demanded greater Board efforts in counseling and policymaking; parole is granted to AIDS carriers only if they agree to special conditions and exhibit a commitment to prevent spreading the infection. All parole offices are being linked to the Board's central office, giving them access to the Offender Tracking Information System. During 1989, the Board exceeded the law in providing in-service training for certified peace officers. For the first time since 1977, the Board commuted a death sentence; the offender must serve 25 years before his first parole consideration. During the fifth year of collecting parole supervision fees, the Board received over $3 million. 3 appendixes.