An Alabama district attorney has blasted a new law that will mean the release of hundreds of prisoners in the state, saying the reform “disgusted” him to the core.
The law — the latest in the US aimed at reducing the incarcerated population — could lead to more crime, Republican DA CJ Robinson said.
“If you look at that list, there are people who might have a drug offense, but that’s the extreme minority. There are several that have violent crimes,” Robinson said, according to the WFSA. “There is a man being released from Autauga County charged with attempted murder of a police officer.”
According to the WTVM, a total of 97 inmates were released from Alabama jails Tuesday after a 2021 law came into effect that requires inmates to spend the final months of their sentences under supervision.
About 400 inmates would be eligible for release under the law, Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles executive director Cam Ward said Monday. However, according to the WTVM, the Attorney General’s Office has challenged the releases in court.
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District Attorney for the 19th Circuit, CJ Robinson.
(CJ Robinson District Attorney – 19th Circuit/Facebook)
The Alabama Department of Corrections said in a news release that there will be a rolling release of the remaining eligible inmates when required victim notifications are made.
The prosecutor for the 19th Circuit continued to comment that his office was working to notify the victims of the released inmates and charged that a price tag had now been put on the safety of Alabamans.
“We are concerned about prison overcrowding, dollar signs and lawsuits. And I understand that we have to deal with all of these issues, but at some point, for goodness sake, we have to get our focus back on protecting the public,” Robinson said.
The sun sets behind Holman Prison in Atmore, Alabama on January 27, 2022.
(AP Photo/Jay Reeves, file)
Ten inmates in Robinson’s district alone will be released, the WFSA reported. Robinson said he expects the releases this week to lead to a spike in crime in the state.
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“What happens when a country stops making justice a priority?” Robinson wrote in a statement on Facebook this week.
“Broken communities, mistrust of our elected officials, civil unrest… loss of stability. Does that sound familiar to you? I’m afraid we’ve only just begun to reap what we’ve sewn up for the last 7 years with reduced sentences, giving inmates plenty of time to breathe involuntarily and shorter windows before inmates are eligible for parole.”
A prisoner’s orange jumpsuit.
(iStock)
The Alabama legislature first approved the supervised release requirement in 2015, and the 2021 legislature made the requirement retroactive. Ward said this week’s release of inmates is expected to be the only mass release since the 2021 law goes into effect.
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Robinson said Michael Butler, a man paroled last year, has been charged with violent crimes since his release, including allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting two girls in Prattville. He is reportedly a suspect in another murder case.
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“The disturbing thing was that he looked like an inmate, like you would see that he was listed as a corrections officer, but he wasn’t. He was at home. He got the eviction. And so he was essentially serving the end of his sentence at home,” Robinson said.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.