Georgia Parole Review Summer 2021 Ga Parole Review Summer 2021 | Page 5

As with other state agencies, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles had to embrace change as a result of the pandemic. That meant restricting in-person attendance at monthly board meetings. Although the Board held its first restriction- free public meeting in June, the public can now attend by watching a live Facebook feed.

The May monthly Board Meeting was the first to be available livestreamed on Facebook.

"Operationally we wanted to allow the public to attend these meetings even though in-person attendance wasn't possible," stated Chris Barnett, the Executive Director of the Board.

"Moving forward we plan to continue to livestream our monthly meetings. The Board agrees that we can better engage and educate the public about the Parole Board by making these meetings available to more people," he added.

At the May Parole Board meeting, the Board  amended  two  Board Rules. The  amendments  included raising the crime severity levels for certain  crimes.

As of July 2021, the Board has increased the crime severity level for a conviction of the following attempted offenses:  attempted aggravated child molestation, attempted armed robbery, attempted kidnapping, attempted aggravated sexual battery and attempted aggravated sodomy,  from crime severity level VII to crime severity level VIII. Other

crime severity levels were also changed.

 The current Crime Severity Levels are available at

 https://pap.georgia.gov/parole-consideration/parole-consideration-eligibility-guidelines.

The Board also adopted pardon language to clarify the eligibility criteria for consideration for a pardon.  

At the June meeting, the Board elected Terry Barnard as chairman and Jacqueline Bunn as vice chair. The Board Members also received operational updates from the three major divisions of the agency: Clemency, Field Services and Victim Services.

Board Meetings are virtual

5