Nov. 29—JACKSON — Under questioning from lawmakers on Tuesday, the head of the state parole board said greater scrutiny of inmates' prison records has led to a decline in the parole rate.

Lawmakers convened Tuesday's hearing amid ongoing efforts to reduce the state's prison population. A sweeping reform bill enacted in 2021 expanded parole eligibility, but the parole board is letting fewer people out of prisons than it did before the reforms were enacted.

Parole Board Chairman Jeffrey Belk told members of a legislative committee that the parole isn't seeking to parole a particular percentage of applicants.

"We do pay attention to the numbers, and they're important," Belk told the Daily Journal. "But we don't let that drive our decisions."

Senate Corrections Vice Chairman Daniel Sparks told Belk he was concerned about less prisoners getting paroled because that meant the prison population would increase over time.

"The rise in the number (of inmates) is a concern because of a shortage corrections officers," Sparks, R-Belmont, said.

Mississippi has one of the highest incarceration rates in the country, and the Department of Justice has described state-run prison conditions as unsafe because of low staffing levels.

Criminal justice advocates have criticized the new parole board for the decreasing parole rate.

Belk, who became the new chairman in January, said on Tuesday that members of the previous parole board were not reviewing cases thoroughly, which is why the parole grant rate was previously higher.

"If you've got a high parole rate and you don't have parole members present, there's no way you can be fully looking at and vetting each case that comes before you," Belk told lawmakers

Belk referenced a report from PEER, a legislative watchdog committee, which found that during one work week in 2020, all five members of the board were never fully in attendance or at the office for parole hearings.

The board at the time objected to PEER's findings, arguing that board members work as full time employees and often work until 6:30 p.m.

Belk told lawmakers today that roughly 40% of the eligible inmates that come before the board are granted parole.

An eligible person must generally serve a certain amount of time before seeking parole.

State law requires people convicted of nonviolent crimes and non-habitual drug offenses committed to serve either 25% of the sentence or 10 years before becoming parole eligible.

Those who committed a violent crime must serve half the sentence or 20 years, and people convicted of robbery with a deadly weapon must serve 60% of the sentence or 25 years.

Parole board wants to implement presumptive parole

The parole chairman said he does want to streamline the parole process through the use of what's called presumptive parole. A provision of state law allows qualifying offenders to be granted parole without a formal hearing, provided criteria are met.

When inmates arrive at a state-run prison, they're screened by prison staff, who develop a case plan, including education and work training, for prisoners to complete before they're released from incarceration.

If prisoners complete the plan, have no violations on their prison record in the last six months and local law enforcement doesn't object to presumptive parole, then the board can sign off on release without a formal hearing.

The process would still allow the board to review cases, but reduce the amount of hearings the board conducts.

"We'll still have the same number of cases, but this will dramatically streamline the process," Belk said.

PEER's 2021 report noted that presumptive parole was not being used effectively and had largely been ignored.

Belk said he is currently working in tandem with Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Burl Cain to codify the presumptive parole procedures.

Senate Corrections Chairman Juan Barnett said he was unsure if he would introduce any new legislation regarding parole during the next legislative session that begins on January 3.

taylor.vance@djournal.com