Hosp said in September the governor believed the board was biased against Jones. Representatives of the board did not return a call Monday. There ought to be a process for recusal. Judges do it. The legislation provides for self-removal by a member or a petition process charging bias.
Appeal is to the attorney general.
Richard Allen, chief deputy attorney general, said Attorney General Bill Pryor supports the legislation. The administrative law division would handle the appeals. That division is under control of Walter Turner, our senior merit system employee. Hosp said reform efforts of the Sentencing Commission eventually may make the Parole Board obsolete, but the legislation is a short-term attempt to repair the system. My caution would be not to think you have fixed the system with passge of the bill.