Three Receive Parole Certificates at GED Graduation 

ALTO, GA - Governor Nathan Deal was the keynote speaker as the Georgia Department of Corrections celebrated surpassing two-thousand GED (General Equivalency Diploma) completions in FY17 during a ceremony today at Lee Arrendale State Prison in Alto. Three of the graduates also received notification they would be paroled.

Governor Deal commented on the achievement by the Department of Corrections in reaching the GED milestone and he congratulated the inmates graduating today.

“Your GED today improves your likelihood of not only being successful when you are released, but also being able to start a new life, it’s an opportunity for you to be what you could have been a lot earlier in life,” said Deal.

Deal told the graduates that today is the beginning.

“It all depends on you. It’s up to you to make the determination that you are going to be what you want to be, with the effort you put forward," added Deal.

Following the ceremony Deal said he appreciated the members of the Parole Board for attending the program so they could see what the graduates are doing to be successful in the future.

“I think it is a great sign that criminal justice reform in all of its manifestations is working. One of the more difficult things that we confront is the fact that so many of those who come into our prison system did not get a high school diploma. To have this program to give those individuals, like the ones here from the two institutions that graduated from today, an opportunity to get a GED is truly a remarkable thing. It can be a stepping stone for them when they get paroled. And to see the announcement by the Parole Board that three of these graduates are actually going to be paroled tomorrow is I think an added incentive for them to see that good conduct does have rewards," stated Deal.

At today’s ceremony, inmates Nicole Sears, Brittney Horner and Wanda Samples learned they would be paroled and be released tomorrow. Chairman Terry Barnard, Chairman-Elect James Mills and Vice Chairman-Elect Braxton Cotton delivered the news to those going home tomorrow.

Chairman Barnard told the graduates that getting their degrees is important to the Board.

“What you have done here today speaks volumes about who you are. It also speaks volumes about your ability to succeed in life,” stated Barnard.

Barnard told the graduates that by completing their GED and other programming, it can assist them in being paroled.

Sears is serving four years for drug and theft convictions. Horner is serving 3 years for drug convictions. Samples is serving the remainder of a total of four years for theft and drug convictions.

Eighty inmates from Lee Arrendale State Prison received a GED. Another 22 from Whitworth Women’s Facility located in Hartwell also graduated with a GED during the ceremony.

“We hope that when you leave today, that you remember you are leaders and we hope you lead with the confidence you displayed today,” Department of Corrections Commissioner Greg Dozier told the graduates. “We are grateful to Governor Deal for what he has done for criminal justice reform and his commitment to ensuring resources are available to make these programs possible,” continued Dozier.

The Parole Board consists of five Board Members who are full time state employees. They are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the State Senate. They serve seven year staggered terms. The members determine which parole eligible inmates are granted parole and they make decisions on pardons as well as clemency requests for death row inmates. In Georgia, eligible inmates are automatically considered for parole. If released on parole, offenders who violate their release conditions may be returned to prison by the Parole Board.

For more information about the Georgia Parole Board, please contact the Office of Communications, Director Steve Hayes, at 404-657-9450 or [email protected]; also visit www.pap.georgia.gov.

For more information about the Georgia Department of Corrections, visit www.gdc.georgia.gov.

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