Opinion ID: 678573
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: O.C.G.A. Sec. 42-9-42 Is Consistent with a Liberty

Text: Interest in Parole 114 The majority relies heavily on O.C.G.A. Sec. 42-9-42, which it interprets as creating a presumption against parole. 33 A cursory review of the Supreme Court's decision in Allen indicates that this interpretation is flawed. O.C.G.A. Sec. 42-9-42 is very similar to a portion of the Montana statute at issue in Allen. O.C.G.A. Sec. 42-9-42 provides, in part: 115 No inmate shall be placed on parole until and unless the board shall find that there is reasonable probability that, if he is so released, he will live and conduct himself as a respectable and law-abiding person and that his release will be compatible with his own welfare and the welfare of society. 116 Similarly, the Montana statute at issue in Allen provided, in part: 117 A prisoner shall be placed on parole only when the board believes that he is able and willing to fulfill the obligations of a law-abiding citizen. 34 118 O.C.G.A. Sec. 42-9-42 further provides, in part: 119 [N]o person shall be released on pardon or placed on parole unless and until the board is satisfied that he will be suitably employed in self-sustaining employment or that he will not become a public charge. 120 Similarly, the Montana statute provided, in part: 121 A parole shall be ordered only for the best interests of society and not as an award of clemency or a reduction of sentence or pardon. 35 122 The Supreme Court in Allen did not read the Montana statute as creating a presumption against parole. To the contrary, it read the portions of the statute quoted immediately above as a further constraint on the discretion of the Board, preventing a decision in favor of release when a prisoner is unable to fulfill the obligations of a law-abiding citizen. 36 Likewise, O.C.G.A. Sec. 42-9-42 can only be interpreted as a further constraint on the discretion of the Board, not as a presumption against release. Consistent with the purpose and intent of the Georgia parole guidelines system, O.C.G.A. Sec. 42-9-42 prohibits the Board from releasing a prisoner who cannot live and conduct himself as a respectable and law-abiding person. Thus, O.C.G.A. Sec. 42-9-42 is compatible with the liberty interest in parole created by the Georgia parole scheme. Any other conclusion flies in the face of the Supreme Court's decision in Allen. 123