The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles denied the parole petition recently from an inmate serving a life sentence for murder of an elderly woman in Crenshaw County.

On March 13, the board voted to deny parole to Ernest Lee McCastle, 66. He is housed at the Fountain Correctional Center, 34 years and five months into a conviction handed down May 6, 1991. McCastle is serving a life sentence for the murder of Mae McGhee.

Willie White, a former Classification Specialist at the prison, spoke on behalf of McCastle, advocating for his release.

Speaking against McCastle’s parole were the victim’s son, Billy Pittman, Victims of Crime and Leniency (VOCAL) representative Bill Lisenby, Attorney General Charlotte Tesmer’s Victims’ Services Officer (VSO) Jackie Fowler and Marquita Cook.

McCastle was previously considered for parole Jan. 22, 2020. Pittman spoke to the board, and testified that McCastle had murdered his mother, McGhee, when she was 83 years old after she had paid him to do handyman work. VOCAL representatives told the board McCastle, “preyed on one of the most vulnerable in our society.”

A reset date of March 2030 was scheduled for McCastle’s next parole hearing.

The board held 20 parole hearings on March 13, granting two and denying 18. The board also held ten hearings on pardon requests, granting three and denying seven.

Board minutes are available at www.paroles.alabama.gov/hearing-minutes/. Inmate information is available by visiting www.doc.alabama.gov/inmatesearch.aspx.