Virginia's "Second Chance Month" Falls Far Short Of Its Promise

Is the Parole Board fulfilling it's mission?

Earlier this year, our Governor Ralph Northam designated May as "Second Chance Month." This ignited hope among the nearly 2000 state prisoners still eligible for parole release under the "old law" (those who were incarcerated before parole was abolished in 1995) and who had worked hard to maintain infraction free records behind bars.
     Sadly, the Commonwealth's five-member Parole Board, in spite of its chair Adrianne Bennett taking part in numerous community meetings across the state last month with the Governor's encouragement, released significantly fewer deserving prisoners this May than they had in May of 2018.
     According to the official numbers posted on the Parole Board website, there were only 8 regular releases granted last month and only 5 geriatric releases, whereas in May of 2018 there were 27 regular releases and 6 geriatric releases.

Minor Junior Smith,
72, is legally blind.

     This is truly heartbreaking to the many individuals behind bars who have worked hard for decades to earn their second chance, only to be routinely denied on the basis of the "seriousness of the offense," something they are powerless to change.
     I am in correspondence with dozens of Virginia prisoners who have made the most of every opportunity to prove they are no longer a threat to public safety, each of whom could be a poster child example of the Department of Correction's success in actually "correcting" individuals in the system.
     Here are links to some prime examples:
https://harvyoder.blogspot.com/2015/03/parole-denied-for-inmate-with.html
https://harvyoder.blogspot.com/2015/11/model-prisoner-47-denied-parole-seven.html
https://harvyoder.blogspot.com/2019/04/another-heartwrenching-parole-turndown.html

Here's a link to the Parole Board:

https://vpb.virginia.gov/contact/

And to the Governor's office:

https://www.governor.virginia.gov/constituent-services/communicating-with-the-governors-office/  

Or leave a voice message for the Governor at 804-786-2211.