The State Board of Pardons and Paroles voted today on new rules to restrict pardons for sex offenders and to open up its highly secretive procedures. People listed on the state sex offender registry would not be able to apply for any kind of pardon -- including those restoring their rights to possess firearms -- until 10 years after they complete prison sentences or probation. Under current rules, sex offenders could ask for a pardon after five years. The board also approved new policies requiring its staff to notify prosecutors and crime victims as soon as felons convicted of violent crimes, including sex offenses, apply for a pardon or the restoration of gun rights. Victims and prosecutors would have 10 days to submit comments on the application.
The new rules would go into effect in 30 days. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported earlier this year that the parole board had restored gun rights of hundreds of violent felons and had granted pardons that apparently relieved sex offenders of requirements to report their residences to law enforcement authorities. The board took these actions in secret, the AJC reported, with no notice to victims or others involved in the cases.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE BY THE AJC
When an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation found that growing numbers of felons in Georgia are regaining the right to own firearms, it raised a question: How carefully is the state parole board scrutinizing the cases before deciding? Board members wouldn’t talk about their decisions. But the AJC’s review of dozens of cases, using court records and other public documents, suggests that the board may not dig deep before voting.
Part One: Felons re-arm
A former police officer was sent to prison for sexually assaulting a domestic violence victim. But before that, records show, he was accused of beating a man so severely his brain bled, and of pressuring at least 10 women to have sex to avoid arrest, and other misconduct. So why did the parole board grant his request to own guns again? Read it now at MyAJC.com
Part Two: Violent offenders
Sexual predators and others convicted of violent crimes now are more likely to win the right to own guns.
Part Three: State Secret
Georgia’s process for restoring gun rights to ex-cons is among the most secretive in the nation. Not even victims
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