State Board of Pardons and Paroles
Mission
The mission of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles is to enhance public safety by making informed parole decisions and transitioning offenders back into the community. The agency provides strict supervision for those offenders that are granted parole and returns them to prison if they choose not to abide by their release conditions.
History
Parole initially came to Georgia in 1908 when the General Assembly voted to give the Prison Commission authority to implement a system of "parole or conditional pardons." In 1938, the Prison Commission was redesignated the State Prison and Parole Commission and the authority to administrate penal camps and institutions was taken from it and placed under the State Board of Penal Administration. Relieved of these prison administration duties, the Commission was given broader powers to grant paroles without approval of the Governor and without limitation on its authority. In 1943, public concern about the handling of pardons and paroles led the Georgia General Assembly to enact legislation, which created the State Board of Pardons and Paroles as an independent agency to administer executive clemency. In August 1943, Georgia voters ratified, by a ratio of four and a half to one, an amendment to the state constitution that established the Parole Board's authority to grant paroles, pardons, and reprieves, to commute sentences, to remit sentences, and to remove disabilities imposed by law. In continuous service since its establishment, the Georgia Parole Board is one of the nation's most experienced, innovative, and respected paroling authorities.
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