Expected release of state inmates worries sheriff

Jan. 31—Local law enforcement has concerns about the Alabama Department of Corrections decision to release more than 400 inmates from state prisons.

Of the 400 inmates to be released, 12 of those are offenders from Calhoun County, according to Calhoun County Sheriff Matthew Wade.

Wade said that the offenders were supposed to be of the "nonviolent" sort. However, that does not seem to be the case, from what he can tell.

"The first one I looked up is robbery first degree," Wade said. "I don't know how that's a nonviolent inmate."

First-degree robbery is a Class A felony typically involving the use of a deadly weapon or dangerous object against the owner of the property.

The Alabama Attorney General has filed an emergency lawsuit to pause the release of those offenders whose crimes affected victims until the victims are properly notified of their release.

The Attorney General's Legislative Liaison and Deputy Communications Director Cameron Mixon told The Anniston Star that the AG has always been vocal on the matter, expressing concern about Act 2021-549 that passed in 2021. That act is now the new law that allows those inmates early release under supervision of an ankle monitoring system, Mixon said.

Mixon said that 60 percent of those inmates released have indeed committed violent offenses and that large groups of those inmates will be released under this new law within the next few months.

"After learning on Friday that victims had not been properly notified about the early release, as required by Act 2021-549, the Attorney General filed an emergency lawsuit on behalf of crime victims seeking to pause the release until victim notification has occurred. This morning, the court entered an order requiring the Department of Corrections to provide sufficient notice to victims prior to the early release of their offenders," stated Mixon.

Mixon stated that the court doesn't issue a timetable for when all of those inmates will be released but " will be subject to court monitoring for the next 60 days."

The inmates who do not have affected victims were scheduled to be released Tuesday, and Wade said he has major concerns over how well those inmates will integrate back into the community. He said he hopes they will go on to lead productive lives.

"What the state has effectively done is take these prisoners out of the state prisons and effectively shifted the burden down to local communities where these people are going to be reintroduced in the community and if they break more laws they'll be put back in local jails, where the tax dollars and burden will be placed on local county commissions," Wade said.

Wade said the law was passed as a Band-Aid for an upcoming lawsuit against the state for overcrowding and poor conditions of the state prison system.

"Communities these people will be released in are going to pay the price for the state of Alabama not addressing their prison issue."

Wade told The Star that it was his understanding that this is just the first wave, and that more inmates — 10 times the amount scheduled to be released on Tuesday — will be released in the future because of this new law.

"I hope these people are successful. I really do. But what the state is doing, these people are going to be released and once they get released and then a majority of them will be re-arrested at some point for doing something else and they'll go to a county jail where they'll sit for two to three years," Wade said.

Wade said these offenders will create a burden at the county level, where resources are stretched thin already — the sheriff's office is having a hard time hiring and retaining law enforcement and corrections officers.

"We don't have enough money to pay enough to attract and keep people. So when we spend money on other things, that takes away from that ability," Wade said.

Staff Writer Ashley Morrison: 256-236-1551. On Twitter: @AshMorrison1105.