danielle
02-19-2004, 08:49 PM
Barbour names new parole board members
By Andy Kanengiser
Gov. Haley Barbour on Monday introduced former Sen. Glenn Hamilton as chairman of the Mississippi Parole Board and announced four other board appointments.
Board appointments included two white men, two white women and one African-American man.
Lawmakers say Barbour, criticized for the lack of diversity in his administration, did much better in that regard with these appointments.
Barbour's first dozen major appointments included 10 white men and two African-American men. None included a woman.
"I was glad to see women placed on the Parole Board,'' said Rep. Frances Fredericks, D-Gulfport, a Corrections Committee member. They were "well-qualified."
But Barbour needs to do more to put women in top spots, said Rep. John Hines, D-Greenville.
"The governor should have a lot of diversity in other areas," Hines said. " I'm willing to give him the opportunity to be more diverse."
Barbour's selections were introduced at Monday's meeting of the House Corrections Committee.
His other choices:
Kareem West, a lawyer and holdover from Gov. Ronnie Musgrove's administration. He is the son of Rep. Phillip West, D-Natchez, chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus.
Businessman Buddy Tolbert of Greenville, a Parole Board member from 1992-96, under Republican Gov. Kirk Fordice.
Newcomers Shannon Warnock of Ridgeland and Bobbie Thomas of Long Beach.
If confirmed by the Senate, the five board members will serve until Jan. 12, 2008.
As chairman, Hamilton will be paid $55,000 annually. The other four members each will be paid $48,000 annually.
Hamilton, who served in the Senate from 1996 to 2003 from Maben, did not seek re-election. The tree farmer and Mississippi State University graduate served on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Thomas, a retired federal employee, had worked on the staff of another Mississippi Republican, U.S. Sen. Trent Lott and worked for Lott when he served in the U.S. House. She worked for Lott from 1973-1996.
Tolbert, 74, owns Sunburst Seed Co., an agricultural firm.
Warnock, 36, was a Washington-based official with the former Mississippi Department of Economic and Community Development, now the Mississippi Development Authority. She was director of the agency's Washington office from 1992-93 during the Fordice administration. Warnock is a graduate of Mississippi College School of Law but does not practice law.
Members who left the Parole Board when their four-year terms expired were Donald Pope of Gautier; Patricia Miller of Pass Christian; Morris Lee Scott of Hernando, a former lawmaker; and Marilyn Starks of Shelby.
By the numbers
Last year, the Parole Board met with 2,244 prisoners seeking parole and paroled 991 of them. Of those paroled, 193 subsequently returned to the prison system.
Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps said as of Monday 2,881 people are eligible for parole. He expects that number will grow by 517 next year.
Mississippi prisons incarcerate more than 20,000 inmates.
The Parole Board meets with prisoners seeking parole at facilities at three state prisons and also consults with families of victims and others before reaching decisions. The agency's budget is about $550,000 annually.
By Andy Kanengiser
Gov. Haley Barbour on Monday introduced former Sen. Glenn Hamilton as chairman of the Mississippi Parole Board and announced four other board appointments.
Board appointments included two white men, two white women and one African-American man.
Lawmakers say Barbour, criticized for the lack of diversity in his administration, did much better in that regard with these appointments.
Barbour's first dozen major appointments included 10 white men and two African-American men. None included a woman.
"I was glad to see women placed on the Parole Board,'' said Rep. Frances Fredericks, D-Gulfport, a Corrections Committee member. They were "well-qualified."
But Barbour needs to do more to put women in top spots, said Rep. John Hines, D-Greenville.
"The governor should have a lot of diversity in other areas," Hines said. " I'm willing to give him the opportunity to be more diverse."
Barbour's selections were introduced at Monday's meeting of the House Corrections Committee.
His other choices:
Kareem West, a lawyer and holdover from Gov. Ronnie Musgrove's administration. He is the son of Rep. Phillip West, D-Natchez, chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus.
Businessman Buddy Tolbert of Greenville, a Parole Board member from 1992-96, under Republican Gov. Kirk Fordice.
Newcomers Shannon Warnock of Ridgeland and Bobbie Thomas of Long Beach.
If confirmed by the Senate, the five board members will serve until Jan. 12, 2008.
As chairman, Hamilton will be paid $55,000 annually. The other four members each will be paid $48,000 annually.
Hamilton, who served in the Senate from 1996 to 2003 from Maben, did not seek re-election. The tree farmer and Mississippi State University graduate served on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Thomas, a retired federal employee, had worked on the staff of another Mississippi Republican, U.S. Sen. Trent Lott and worked for Lott when he served in the U.S. House. She worked for Lott from 1973-1996.
Tolbert, 74, owns Sunburst Seed Co., an agricultural firm.
Warnock, 36, was a Washington-based official with the former Mississippi Department of Economic and Community Development, now the Mississippi Development Authority. She was director of the agency's Washington office from 1992-93 during the Fordice administration. Warnock is a graduate of Mississippi College School of Law but does not practice law.
Members who left the Parole Board when their four-year terms expired were Donald Pope of Gautier; Patricia Miller of Pass Christian; Morris Lee Scott of Hernando, a former lawmaker; and Marilyn Starks of Shelby.
By the numbers
Last year, the Parole Board met with 2,244 prisoners seeking parole and paroled 991 of them. Of those paroled, 193 subsequently returned to the prison system.
Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps said as of Monday 2,881 people are eligible for parole. He expects that number will grow by 517 next year.
Mississippi prisons incarcerate more than 20,000 inmates.
The Parole Board meets with prisoners seeking parole at facilities at three state prisons and also consults with families of victims and others before reaching decisions. The agency's budget is about $550,000 annually.