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Alabama parole board hears 33 cases, grants several paroles with conditions and issues multiple full pardons
Summary
At its Aug. 26 meeting in Montgomery, the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles denied and granted parole and pardon requests across a 33-item docket, including conditional parole grants and full pardons restoring civil and political rights to multiple applicants.
The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles convened an open public meeting on Aug. 26, 2025, in Montgomery to hear 33 docketed parole and pardon matters. Hal Nash, chairperson, presided with board members Darryl Littleton and Gabrelle Simmons; Nicole Lewis served as board secretary. The board approved minutes from its Aug. 21 meeting before hearing the daily docket.
Most docket items featured family members or attorneys speaking for applicants and representatives from victim services and advocacy groups speaking in opposition. For example, at the outset the board denied parole for Don A. Smith after testimony from family members for parole and relatives of the victim opposing release; the board set a reset date of August 2030. The board also denied Jessie L. Luckey with a reset date of March 2029 after victim testimony and advocacy opposition.
The board granted parole for Marcel A. Austin Sr. after reopening his case to allow additional testimony. His grant includes special conditions: completion of the Perry County Probation/Parole Reentry Education Program (PREP), GPS ankle monitoring, mental health follow-up and a drug assessment upon release. That reopening was moved by Darryl Littleton and seconded by Gabrelle Simmons; additional testimony was taken before the vote.
Several other parole grants included conditions tied to reentry programming, monitoring and treatment: Kwasi D. Jones was approved to complete a Day Reporting Center (DRC) program and follow-up services; Willie E. McCants Jr., Danny R. Nichols, Russell L. Hunt, Shelby D. Barber and Zachary W. McKibben received parole grants conditioned on reentry services, mental-health follow-up, NA/AA participation, GPS monitoring and drug assessment as appropriate. Several parole requests were denied outright, some with no reset dates and others with specified reset months and years.
The board also acted on pardon petitions. The board granted restoration of voting rights only to Daniel J. Thomas. Full pardons restoring all civil and political rights were granted to Alvin W. Coursey, Justin B. Smith, Adam W. Tolbert, Christopher T. Reece, Donald Harris and Jarmarcus A. Rice. Other pardon requests were denied, including petitions from William C. King and Coretta Gamble.
Board members placed at least one case (Kwasi D. Jones) into executive session to review files before returning to vote. The board recessed for lunch from noon to 1 p.m. and completed its docket in the afternoon, also reviewing a separate administrative list of parolees declared delinquent. The meeting adjourned at 2:22 p.m.; the board planned to meet again Aug. 27, 2025 at 8:00 a.m.
Why it matters: The board’s decisions affect supervision conditions, program placements and the civil rights status of petitioners. Several grants included required reentry programming and monitoring that will direct local probation/parole resources and services for returning citizens. Several denials leave petitioners with multi-year reset dates or no reset date, prolonging incarceration or supervised custody.
Votes at a glance: - Parole denied, Don A. Smith — reset Aug. 2030. - Parole denied, Jessie L. Luckey — reset Mar. 2029. - Parole granted (with conditions), Marcel A. Austin Sr. — PREP, GPS monitoring, mental health follow-up, drug assessment. - Parole granted (with conditions), Kwasi D. Jones — Mobile Day Reporting Center, mental-health follow-up, NA/AA, GPS monitoring, drug assessment. - Parole granted (with conditions): Willie E. McCants Jr.; Danny R. Nichols; Russell L. Hunt; Shelby D. Barber; Zachary W. McKibben (each with case-specific reentry/monitoring/treatment conditions as recorded). - Pardon: voting rights restored for Daniel J. Thomas. - Full pardons (restoration of all civil and political rights): Alvin W. Coursey; Justin B. Smith; Adam W. Tolbert; Christopher T. Reece; Donald Harris; Jarmarcus A. Rice. - Multiple other parole denials and reset dates as recorded in the docket.
What the board cited and documents filed: The meeting was held pursuant to Alabama Code, Title 15, Chapter 22. Board Orders were entered removing or modifying special conditions for several AIS numbers and administrative docket and delinquency lists were filed with the minutes.
Next steps: The board’s orders and the docketed decisions will be reflected in written Board Orders and the Bureau’s case-tracking system; the board scheduled its next meeting for Aug. 27, 2025, at 8:00 a.m.
