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The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles met on Oct. 5 and denied parole to three inmates – Jessica Ann Bush, Dexter Rocsalum Burnett, and Ozell Dewaynbe Carter –  in connection with convictions for crimes committed in Butler County.

Jessica Ann Bush, 45, was denied parole in connection with two Butler County convictions from October 2018 – one count of distributing a controlled substance and one count of manufacturing a controlled substance. Bush is currently held in the Montgomery Womens Facility, serving out a 16-year sentence. 

Speaking against Bush’s request were McKenzie Police Chief Don REaves at Pat Jones with the District Attorney Charlotte Tesmer’s office. Bush’s mother, Jerry Armstrong appear to petition the board on behalf of her daughter.

The board reset the next parole hearing date for October 2025.

Dexter Rocsalum Burnett, 47, was also denied parole, in connection with a January conviction for possessing/receiving a controlled substance, Class D. He is currently held at the Red Eagle Work Center, serving out an eight-year sentence.  

No one appeared before the board, either to support or oppose Burnett’s request and the board failed to designate a reset date for his next hearing.

Board members heard and declined a parole request from Ozell Dewayne Carter, 29, in connection with a June conviction for first-degree theft of property. Carter is held at Kilby prison, where he is serving a 46-month sentence.

The board declined to designate a reset date for Carter and no one petitioned for or against his parole.

Thirty parole hearings were held on Oct. 5. The board granted parole to five inmates and denied parole to 25.

Twelve pardon hearings were also held and the board voted to grant parole to eight, while denying four.

Hearing minutes from the proceedings are available at www.paroles.alabama.gov/hearings. Inmate information can be obtained by visiting the Alabama Department of Corrections website at www.doc.alabama.gov/InmateSearch.