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Inmate recommended for clemency despite bad behavior in prison Thursday, Jun 21, 2007 By John Lyon Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - A prison inmate who has been recommended for executive clemency has a lengthy history of bad behavior in state custody, including an incident that occurred just two months ago, a state prison spokeswoman said Wednesday. Among the inmates the state Parole Board recommended for clemency this month was Brett Surveyor, 34, who is serving a 60-year sentence from Jefferson County for aggravated robbery and other offenses. "Since 2005, he's had at least 20 rules violations," Department of Correction spokeswoman Dina Tyler said Wednesday. At least one of the incidents involved violence, though no one was seriously injured, Tyler said. But because of his behavior, Surveyor is kept segregated from other inmates at the Maximum Security Unit in Tucker, she said. When an Arkansas prison inmate applies for clemency, the first step the Parole Board takes is to conduct a review called a screening to determine whether there is any merit to the application. Tyler said Surveyor's screening was conducted April 14, and his most recent rules violation occurred April 19. "So it was actually during the process," she said. On June 7, the board voted unanimously to recommend that Gov. Mike Beebe grant clemency to Surveyor. Tyler was asked if the Parole Board considers an inmate's behavior behind bars when deciding whether to recommend leniency. "Sure they do," she said. "But they have a lot of information that we don't necessarily have." Parole Board spokeswoman Rhonda Sharp said the board considers many factors in addition to behavior. "The board looks first at the application ... then they look at any documentation provided by the offender or the offender's family, then they look at the documentation provided by the victim, if it's a crime that involved a victim, or the victim's family," Sharp said. "They look at information gathered about the offense, and they do look at some of the documentation from the offender's prison term," she added. "So they look at several different documents, and then you've got at least five different people reading those documents or hearing testimony." Telephone messages were left at the homes of several Parole Board members Wednesday. None immediately returned calls seeking comment. Surveyor was sentenced in 1995. He wrote in his application for clemency that he was convicted of robbing a store, although "I was never identified as the person whom (sic) committed the crime." Surveyor also wrote that he has been locked up for almost 12 years, "and during this time I have managed to change myself into a much better man. I feel that I'm ready to go home." Elsewhere on the application, Surveyor checked a box indicating he believes his sentence was excessive. He also placed a check mark next to the statement, "My institutional adjustment has been exemplary and the ends of justice have been achieved." The Parole Board's recommendations will go to Beebe after a 30-day public-notice period. Surveyor has a federal lawsuit pending against a prison guard, Cpl. James Mallard. He claims Mallard used excessive force against him twice in 2002 because he filed grievances with the Department of Correction. A federal judge dismissed the suit, which also named all of the federal judges and magistrates in the state and several U.S. Court of Appeals judges as defendants. Surveyor appealed that ruling to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis, and on March 19 that court upheld the removal of the federal judges and magistrates from the suit but ordered a new hearing on Surveyor's claims against Mallard. |
