When Attorney Fred Jones was elected to represent District 16, he promised to reform many of the state’s prison laws that are unfair to the incarcerated.
When the legislative session ended on June 30th, Jones succeeded in passing a bill that will bring some relief to parolees.
HB643 was passed by the legislature and has been signed into law. It makes a noticeable change in the length of time a parolee has to be supervised if he/she has not caused any problems.
The new law trims the length of a parolee’s supervision from five to three years for good behavior.
What does that mean?
At present, a person convicted of a non-violent crime who has been paroled must be supervised for five years after being released on parole for a non-violent offense. That means the parolees must regularly report to a parole office, usually monthly, to provide proof of residence, employment, and eligibility to remain free on parole.
In addition, each time a parolee reports, he or she must pay a fee, often as much as $50 to help cover the cost of supervision. For many parolees unable to find employment, this is a hindrance.
Jone’s new law has sliced two years off the time that a parolee must be supervised, and could save the parolee as much as $1,200 in supervision fees.
It may not be a big deal to the general public, but it’s a big deal to parolees.
The change is significant because the present law requires parolees to complete their full parole term before being discharged from supervision.
During this time, the parolee has to be super clean with no warrants, indictments, bills of information, or listing as a suspect in a crime.
That may seem fair, but its relatively easy to miss a court date and have a warrant issued for an arrest or be innocently included on a police suspect list for a crime.
For five years, a parolee lives under a microscope where even the suspicion of criminal activity can violate parole terms.
While the law needs to be modified a bit to avoid abuses based on suspicion, Rep. Jones made a significant first toward making life a little easier for parolees.
The new law allows the committee on parole to place an eligible parolee to be placed on “inactive” status after completing three years of a non-violent crime conviction and after seven years of a violent crime conviction.
The parolee is not free at the end of three years but still remains under the auspices of the Department of Corrections. However, the parolee will be free from the monthly chore of reporting to a parole officer and paying a fee every month.
Of course, any parolee who breaks the law or otherwise violates the terms of probation can be returned to prison.
There are many inequities in the state’s prison system; this is just one small step, with dozens more needed.
Sheriff’s across the state perpetuate a slave system in which prisoners on work release are charge rent for their jail cells and other fees that chew up the majority of their wages they earn on work release.
Instead of giving an inmate a chance for a fresh start upon release because of accumulated work release wages, sheriffs chiffon off their wages and leave them with little or nothing to show for several years of labor.
Absorbent prices for commissary items or telephone use are other ways that inmates are financially abused.
These and other changes are needed, but in his first term in the legislature, Rep. Jones has remained true to his word and has at least begun the difficult task, with the help of others, of reforming our prison system toward rehabilitation than punishment and exploitation.
