Alaska Black Caucus Justice Committee
Report for 3/31/2025
The Alaska Black Caucus supports
Senate Bill 62: Parole Board Reforms
The Alaska Department of Corrections significantly impacts our incarcerated community members and their families. The Alaska Board of Parole plays a crucial role in determining how the punishments set by the courts are applied during incarceration.
Unfortunately, the decisions made by the Parole Board are often neither transparent nor clearly communicated to inmates and their families. As a result, these decisions are frequently perceived as arbitrary and unfair—not just by those directly affected, but increasingly by others as well. A recent legislative audit revealed a concerning trend: over the past four years, the Parole Board granted discretionary parole in only 27 percent of hearings, marking a substantial shift from historical practices. Furthermore, the audit found that the Parole Board could not provide specific reasons for this decline in parole approval rates.
Senate Bill 62 is currently pending in the Alaska Legislature to address these issues and consider potential reform measures. Notably, four out of five current members of the Parole Board have previously worked for the Department of Corrections. Senate Bill 62 aims to comprise a Board with a broader range of experiences. This diversity of perspectives would enhance the Board’s ability to accurately assess whether a prisoner is ready for rehabilitation through parole and whether they would pose a risk to public safety.
Additionally, Senate Bill 62 seeks to increase transparency by requiring the Board to produce an annual report detailing its operations and the parole hearings conducted within the year. It will also mandate the reporting of demographic data, which is essential for tracking the longstanding racial disparities in Alaska’s prison population.
Finally, Senate Bill 62 aims to repeal a statutory requirement that conditions of parole release “would not diminish the seriousness of the crime.” This provision is often misused by the Parole Board to overlook an inmate’s rehabilitative efforts, undermine the judgment of the sentencing judge, and justify extended sentences by claiming that the original sentence was too lenient.
