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Alabama Board of Pardons & Paroles issues mixed outcomes, including full pardon restoring civil rights
Summary
At its Feb. 17, 2026 meeting in Montgomery, the Alabama Board of Pardons & Paroles denied multiple parole requests (many with reset dates), granted several paroles with conditions, and issued a full pardon restoring civil and political rights to one applicant. Victim advocates and the Attorney General’s victim services representative opposed many paroles.
The Alabama Board of Pardons & Paroles met on Feb. 17, 2026, in Montgomery and issued a series of parole and pardon decisions affecting dozens of applicants. Chair Hal Nash presided; Gabrelle Simmons was the other board member present and Nicole Lewis served as board secretary recording actions.
The board denied parole in a number of cases and set reset dates in several of those denials. For example, the board denied parole for Jesse R. Yates (AIS# 183578) and set a reset date of February 2031. Larhonda D. Richard (AIS# 172729) was denied with a reset date of February 2030. Several denials carried reset dates of February 2027–2031, while others were denied with no reset date recorded in the minutes.
Board members granted parole in some cases, typically with conditions. Rhett R. Gorzel (AIS# 279297) was granted parole with multiple special conditions, including placement in an approved halfway house, participation in NA/AA, GPS ankle monitoring, mental-health follow-up and a drug assessment upon release. Demarlio Dunnigan (AIS# 245041) and Kurt D. Fletcher (AIS# 287836) were each granted parole with conditions that include completion of the Perry County Probation/Parole Reentry Education Program (PREP), GPS monitoring, mental-health follow-up and drug assessment. Thomas M. Robertson (AIS# 333073) was also granted parole with similar reentry conditions.
The board acted on several pardon requests. The minutes record a full pardon granted to applicant Bouchaib Yamaoui (AIS# 823753), with the restoration of all civil and political rights. Other pardons were granted with restrictions: Erica D. Wade (AIS# 803079) received a pardon with relief from habitual-offender penalties and firearms disabilities; Bryan H. Wallace (AIS# 281218) and Nathan R. Randolph (AIS# 825496) were recorded as granted pardons with similar restrictions. Shalanda Long (AIS# 827990) and Michael K. McAdory (AIS# 133438) were each granted voting-rights-only relief.
Victim advocates and the Attorney General’s victim services representative were frequent participants opposing parole in many cases. Ky'Toria Lawson of VOCAL is recorded repeatedly as speaking against parole in multiple docket items. Sarah Deneve, listed as VSO with the Attorney General’s Office, is recorded as speaking against parole in many cases; the minutes also list a Huntsville Police Department investigator, Jeremy Woods, among speakers against parole in at least one case. Family members and attorneys spoke in support of parole in multiple cases, including mothers, fathers, siblings and legal counsel.
The board’s minutes show that motions to approve or deny items were recorded and passed by majority vote. The board reviewed a list of delinquent files as part of routine business. The meeting adjourned at 2:03 p.m.; the next scheduled meeting is Feb. 18, 2026, at 8:00 a.m. at the same location.
Notably, the minutes state that the board met and acted under Alabama Code, Title 15, Chapter 22, which governs parole and pardon hearings in the state. The minutes do not include roll-call vote tallies for individual board members or verbatim transcripts of remarks; outcomes are recorded as the board’s official decisions in each docket item.
