Ala. Code
Code of Alabama

Ala. Code § 15-22-20 (2026)

Board of Pardons and Paroles - Creation; Composition; Compensation. (Amended by Act 2026-403)

✓ official Alabama Legislature (ALISON) text, current July 2026
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AMENDED BY ACT 2026-403, EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 2026. SEE ACT FOR REVISED LANGUAGE.

(a) There shall be a Board of Pardons and Paroles which shall consist of three members. The membership of the board shall be inclusive and reflect the racial, gender, geographic, urban/rural, or economic diversity of the state. At least one member shall be a current or former law enforcement officer with a minimum of 10 years’ experience in or with a law enforcement agency which has among its primary duties and responsibilities the investigation of violent crimes or the apprehension, arrest, or supervision of the perpetrators thereof.

(b) Any vacancy occurring on the board, whether for an expired or unexpired term, shall be filled by appointment by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, from a list of five qualified persons nominated by a board consisting of the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. The nominating board shall as soon as practicable after a vacancy occurs, whether for an expired or unexpired term, meet and select by majority vote the names of five persons to be submitted to the Governor. The board shall immediately submit its nominations to the Governor, who shall make his or her appointment from the list within 10 days. Appointees shall begin serving immediately upon appointment, until confirmed or rejected by the Senate. Appointments made at times when the Senate is not in regular session shall be effective ad interim. Any appointment made by the Governor while the Senate is in regular session must be submitted to the Senate not later than the third legislative day following the date of the appointment; any appointment made while the Senate is not in regular session shall be submitted not later than the third legislative day following the reconvening of the Legislature in regular session. If the Senate fails to vote on an appointee’s confirmation before adjourning sine die during the regular session in which the appointee is appointed, the appointee is deemed to be confirmed.

(c) Members of the board shall be appointed for terms of six years commencing on July 1 in the years 1953, 1955, and 1957, and shall serve until their successors are appointed and qualified. Any person appointed to fill the vacancy for an unexpired term shall vacate the office upon the expiration of that unexpired term.

(d) The Governor shall designate one of the members as chair, and the chair shall preside at sessions of the board.

(e) Each member shall take the constitutional oath of office and shall be subject to impeachment for any of the causes specified in Section 173 of the Constitution; and the procedure in cases of impeachment shall be in the manner provided by Section 175 of the Constitution; provided, however, that in the event the Governor shall determine that any member of the board is incapacitated by reason of physical or mental disability or illness to the extent that the member cannot efficiently perform the duties of his or her office, he or she shall direct the Attorney General to proceed to the determination of that issue in an inquisition proceeding instituted by him or her in the Circuit Court of Montgomery County, Alabama. In the event the issue is determined in the court against the board member, the court shall declare the office vacant, and the same shall be vacated and a successor appointed, as provided in this section.

(f) Two members of the board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of the official business of the board.

(g) The members of the board shall hold no other office of profit during their incumbency.

(h) The annual compensation of the chair and each associate member of the Board of Pardons and Paroles shall be an amount as is provided by law. The salaries shall be paid in equal installments from the State Treasury in the same manner that salaries of other state officers are paid.

(Acts 1939, No. 275, p. 426; Code 1940, T. 42, §§1, 1(3); Acts 1951, No. 599, p. 1030; Acts 1953, No. 822, p. 1105; Acts 1957, No. 195, p. 254; Acts 1967, No. 51, p. 378, §1; Acts 1971, No. 71, p. 333, §1; Act 2003-415, p. 1205, §1; Act 2019-393, §1.)

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1990–2026 · leading case: Riley v. Cornerstone Cmty. Outreach, Inc., 57 So. 3d 704 (Ala. 2010).
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Riley v. Cornerstone Cmty. Outreach, Inc., 57 So. 3d 704 (Ala. 2010). · cites it 2× “Code 1975, § 36-11-4 (the governor can “direct” the attorney general to file impeachment proceedings against constitutional officers, and he can direct the district attorney to file impeachment proceedings against county or municipal officers); Ala.Code 1975, § 15-22-20(e) (the…”
Bethune v. Nettles, 738 So. 2d 850 (Ala. 1999). · cites it 4× “The Senate was not then in session, and, accordingly, Bethune took office as an ad interim member of the Board, under the provisions of § 15-22-20, Ala. Code 1975. 1 *852 On August 13, 1997, Nettles filed an action in the Montgomery County Circuit Court, seeking declaratory and…”
United States v. David Swanson, 947 F.2d 914 (11th Cir. 1991). “The powers, responsibilities, and limitations on the State Board of Pardons and Paroles are set forth in Ala.Code §§ 15-22-20 et seq. (1975). Those sections empower the Board to pardon or restore the civil and political rights of persons who have previously been convicted of…”
Swanson v. Pitt, 330 F. Supp. 2d 1269 (M.D. Ala. 2004). · cites it 2× “§§ 1973 through 1973p; and 1975 Ala.Code §§ 15-22-20, 15-22-23, 15-22-36.”
United States v. Swanson, 753 F. Supp. 338 (N.D. Ala. 1990). · cites it 2× “Pursuant to this constitutional authority, the legislature in Ala.Code § 15-22-20 created the Board of Pardons and Paroles, but that Board was nowhere given the authority, either express or implied, to abrogate willy-nilly or to vary the terms of any statute designed to control…”
Givand (M.D. Ala. 2026). · cites it 2× “See Ala. Code §§ 15-22-20 et seq. Accordingly, the clerk of court is DIRECTED to (1) terminate the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles as a respondent and (2) add the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles as a respondent.”
Johnson v. Head (N.D. Ala. 2020). “CODE § 15-22-20. Attorney General, Lynn Head, Dewayne Spurlock, and Clifford Walker in their official capacities are due to be dismissed.”
Ala. Code § 15-22-20(b): 1 case
Bethune v. Nettles, 738 So. 2d 850 (Ala. 1999). “The Senate was not then in session, and, accordingly, Bethune took office as an ad interim member of the Board, under the provisions of § 15-22-20, Ala. Code 1975. 1 *852 On August 13, 1997, Nettles filed an action in the Montgomery County Circuit Court, seeking declaratory and…”
Ala. Code § 15-22-20(e): 1 case
Riley v. Cornerstone Cmty. Outreach, Inc., 57 So. 3d 704 (Ala. 2010). “Code 1975, § 36-11-4 (the governor can “direct” the attorney general to file impeachment proceedings against constitutional officers, and he can direct the district attorney to file impeachment proceedings against county or municipal officers); Ala.Code 1975, § 15-22-20(e) (the…”
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