By Senator Lance Bell, Senator Dan Roberts, Senator Jabo Waggoner, Senator April Weaver, Representative Russell Bedsole, Representative Jim Carns, Representative Susan DuBose, Representative Corley Ellis, Representative Leigh Hulsey, Representative Arnold Mooney, and Representative Kenneth Paschal
SUPPORT FOR SB1 BY WEAVER AND HB9 BY BEDSOLE
WHEREAS, we, the Shelby County Legislative Delegation, heartily support the Good Time Revision Bills introduced in the Alabama Senate (SB1) and Alabama House of Representatives (HB9) by Senator April Weaver and Representative Russell Bedsole in the 2023 Regular Legislative Session of the Alabama Legislature; and
WHEREAS, SB1 and HB9 are companion bills that seek to amend the existing law related to correctional incentive time, also known as “good time;” and
WHEREAS, under existing law, prisoners who have been convicted of an offense and are in custody may earn good time, which is a deduction from the term of his or her sentence; the amount of good time a prisoner can earn varies with the level of the prisoner’s classification; these bills would reduce the amount of time a prisoner may earn good time and would increase the amount of time a prisoner must spend in a certain classification before they can move up; the bill would also provide additional circumstances in which an inmate would have to forfeit good time; and
WHEREAS, a multitude of instances can be used to observe the negative impact of an inmate released too early, without the proper time needed for rehabilitation; the greatest example being that of the shooting of Bibb County Deputies Brad Johnson and Chris Poole, which resulted in the untimely death of Deputy Johnson; and
WHEREAS, SB1 and HB9 will provide a reasonable and responsible way to award good time to inmates without negatively impacting the law enforcement personnel who bravely serve out state and the citizens they serve; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Shelby County Legislative Delegation provides our united support for Senator April Weaver’s SB1 and Representative Russell Bedsole’s HB9 that would amend Alabama’s good time law; we believe this legislation to be of utmost importance to the safety of the citizens of the great state of Alabama.
