Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles Chair Lyn Head has resigned effective Oct. 1, Head said today.
Head said she made the decision on Monday and has informed Gov. Kay Ivey in writing.
Head said she made the decision after fervent prayer.
“It’s time for me to move on,” Head said.
Head, who lives in Tuscaloosa, is a lawyer and former prosecutor. She served a little more than three years on the board.
Gina Maiola, press secretary for Ivey, said the governor thanked Head for her service and wished her well.
“Governor Ivey will begin the process to name a replacement,” Maiola said in an email. “She remains committed to making needed reforms at the Board of Pardons and Paroles to help deliver justice and ensure public safety.”
Controversy has engulfed the Board of Pardons and Paroles for the last year. Much of it came after a parolee with a long criminal record was charged with killing three people in Guntersville in July 2018, about six months after his release from prison. The state later agreed to pay $1 million to the families of the victims Jimmy O’Neal Spencer is charged with killing.
Ivey and Attorney General Steve Marshall criticized the handling of that case and other aspects of the agency’s work. They backed legislation giving the governor more control over the operations of the agency, including making the director an appointee of the governor. Previously, the three-member board appointed the director.
Under the new law, Ivey appointed former Alabama Attorney General Charlie Graddick as director of the agency effective Sept. 1.
Graddick said he found the agency was not properly notifying victims and witnesses about parole hearings. He put three top administrators, including his predecessor, on leave. Graddick postponed parole hearings because he said there was no way to be sure legal notice requirements were met. Graddick said hearings should resume in November.
Head said her plans are not definite but said she has interest in helping connect manufacturers looking for employees with people trying to return to the workforce after involvement in the criminal justice system.
Head said it was her decision to resign.
Head said today she did not have any comment on the suspensions of the three administrators or Graddick’s assertion that notice requirements were not being met.
But she said she did not believe the agency was broken, as Marshall said when he spoke in support of the bill mandating changes.
“It certainly was not my perception of what was going on,” Head said.
Mike Lewis, communications director for Marshall, said today, “Attorney General Marshall wishes Ms. Lyn Head all the best in her future endeavors.”
The legislation that took effect Sept. 1 put the director in charge of the operations of the agency, which Graddick has renamed the Bureau of Pardons and Paroles. The three board members maintain authority over parole decisions but no longer have administrative responsibilities.
Skip Tucker, news director for the bureau, said Graddick had no comment on Head’s resignation, noting that board members are appointed by the governor.
