The State Board of Pardons and Paroles on Tuesday selected a new chairman and vice chairman, the first change in leadership at the agency in three years.
James Mills was chosen to succeed board chairman Terry Barnard on July 1. Mills has been the board’s vice chairman three years as well.
Braxton Cotton-- a former state trooper, policeman and deputy-- will replace Mills as vice chairman of the five-member clemency board.
Mills had been in the Georgia Legislature 19 years wen he was appointed in November 2011. Cotton was appointed two years later.
The governor appoints board members to staggered seven-year terms to decide when parole or pardons will be granted. The board is one of the final authorities Death Row inmates turn to for clemency in the days before their scheduled executions.
About the Author
