Gov. Deal Signs Criminal Justice Reform Bill
Gov. Nathan Deal signed a key part of his criminal justice reform package on Thursday.
The bill, HB 310, will create a new state agency, which will be known as the Department of Community Supervision, to oversee felony probation and parole. Deal appointed a new commissioner, Michael Nail, to head the agency.
The law would also make changes to the state’s private probation system for misdemeanor offenses.
Last year, Kevin Thompson, a 19-year-old resident of DeKalb County, owed about $800 in fines related to a traffic ticket. When he couldn’t pay his fines, a judge put on him probation with a private probation company and gave him 30 days to pay. But Thompson said he also had to pay fees to the company itself for his probation supervision fees.
“It was a very, very difficult time for me, just being in a place where you know you’re not able to provide for yourself, let alone provide for a company where you owe them money,” Thompson said.
When he couldn’t pay, a DeKalb County judge sentenced him to nine days in jail. The ACLU filed a lawsuit on Thompson’s behalf, and the case was settled earlier this year.
The reforms signed Thursday would help prevent cases like this, Thompson’s lawyer said.
The law allows judges to convert fines to community service and caps the amount of fees private probation companies can charge. It also requires private probation companies to report the amount of money they collect from probationers’ fees.
This is the fourth year the Gov. Deal has signed laws to reform the state’s criminal justice system.
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