GA Parole FY2015 Annual Report | Page 15

Mr. Cotton established this agency with the primary mission to coordinate all state resources that affected prisoner reentry within the state of Georgia.

Mr. Cotton graduated from Georgia Military College and he is currently a Captain in the U.S. Army Reserves. He has received the Army Achievement Medal.

Mr. Cotton has a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Saint Leo University (Fort McPherson). He is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, American Correctional Association, and the Georgia Professional Association of Community Supervision (GPACS).

Mr. Murray has served in several capacities as a member of the American Correctional Association (ACA). He has received the ACA’s Cass Award for lifetime achievement. Mr. Murray graduated cum laude with a master’s degree in Education from Middle Tennessee State University and he has a bachelor’s degree in English from Tennessee State University. Mr. Murray serves on the Board of Directors for Georgia Piedmont Technical College.

State Board of Pardons and Paroles Fiscal Year 2015 Annual Report

Braxton Cotton

raxton T. Cotton, of Atlanta, was appointed to the Board in November of 2013. He is the former Director of the Governor’s Office of Transition, Support and Reentry.

Mr. Cotton began his law enforcement career as a police officer with the Milledgeville Police Department. He then joined the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, serving as a detective, SWAT team member, crime suppression unit member, and firearms instructor. He was named 2004 Officer of the Year. Mr. Cotton joined the Georgia Department of Public Safety and was the class president for the 84th Trooper School for the Georgia State Patrol. While serving as a Trooper, he was assigned to the Executive Protection Unit, serving Governor Sonny Perdue and then Governor Nathan Deal.

In June 2012, Governor Deal appointed Mr. Cotton to serve as Executive Director of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC). At the age of 30, Mr. Cotton became the youngest African American agency head in Georgia history.

At the CJCC, he oversaw tens of millions of dollars in state and federal grant funds and served as an advisor to the Governor on issues directly impacting the Georgia criminal justice system. Mr. Cotton was key in the implementation of the Governor’s Criminal Justice Reform, phases 1 and 2.

In June 2013, Governor Deal appointed Mr. Cotton as the Executive Director of the newly created Governor’s Office of Transition, Support and Reentry.

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Brian Owens

rian Owens was appointed to the Board on February 1, 2015, by Governor Nathan Deal. The former Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Corrections began his career as a parole officer in 1993. He was later

promoted to assistant chief parole officer and chief parole officer.

In 1999, Mr. Owens joined the Georgia Department of Corrections. He began his career at the department as Director of the Office of Planning and Analysis and was later promoted to Executive Assistant and then to Assistant Commissioner. On January 8, 2009, Mr. Owens was sworn in as Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Corrections by Governor Perdue. He was reappointed as Commissioner by Governor Deal on January 18, 2011.

Mr. Owens earned his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Georgia.

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